Iran Leaves Door Open for Peace Talks Amid Hunt for Missing US Pilot

Iran Leaves Door Open for Peace Talks Amid Hunt for Missing US Pilot

Iranian forces are continuing their search for a missing US pilot, despite assertions by President Donald Trump that US forces have total control of the skies.

The hunt for the pilot comes after two US warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, with the incidents showing the risks still facing US and Israeli aircraft over Iran.

The prospect of a US service member alive and on the run in Iran comes as Trump threatened to bomb Iran 'back to the Stone Ages' in a conflict that has low public support among Americans and threatens lasting damage to the global economy.

Iran's foreign minister has left the door open for holding peace talks with the US via mediation from Pakistan, but gave no sign of Tehran's willingness to bow to Trump's demands.

'We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.

Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, with the scale of injuries to the crew unclear.

The conflict has killed 13 US military service members, with more than 300 wounded, the US Central Command says.

As hostilities continue, Iranian state media reported air strikes at a petrochemical zone in southwestern Iran, with five people reported injured so far.

A projectile also hit an auxiliary building near the perimeter of Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, killing one person. The operations of the plant were unaffected.

The war has killed thousands and sparked an energy crisis since the initial strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, but has authorised the passage of vessels carrying essential goods to its ports.