'High demand' from media forces Trump to move Iran rescue conference to White House press briefing room

What was to be a restricted press conference in the Oval Office became an event open to all accredited press. This Sunday, the White House announced that President Donald Trump's press conference on the rescue of the U.S. airman in Iran would be moved to the White House Press Briefing Room this Monday at 1:00 PM ET, following media pressure.

"Due to popular demand from the press, President Trump's news conference tomorrow will now take place in the White House Briefing Room. 1 PM ET," press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced. Military officials will accompany Trump and will address details of the operation that rescued an Air Force colonel who spent more than 24 hours evading capture in Iranian territory.

An unprecedented operation

The colonel's rescue, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, became one of the most dramatic episodes in the war between the United States and Iran, which has been ongoing for more than five weeks now. The officer was the second F-15E Strike Eagle crewman shot down last Friday over southwestern Iran, in the first confirmed downing of a U.S. fighter jet over Iranian territory since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

As Iranian forces scoured the area and offered rewards of up to $60,000 to civilians who turned over the aviator, the colonel climbed a mountain over 2,100 meters and hid in a crevice, activating his emergency beacon to guide rescue teams. According to national media reports, the operation involved hundreds of special forces, dozens of aircraft and lasted seven hours over enemy territory.

The complications were diverse. When the colonel was located and transferred to two MC-130J aircraft waiting to take him out of the country, one of them suffered a mechanical failure and the U.S. forces deliberately destroyed it to prevent it from falling into Iranian hands. Iran claimed to have destroyed four U.S. aircraft during the operation, but a regional intelligence official told the AP agency that at least two of them were destroyed by the Americans themselves due to a malfunction.

Trump: "An Easter miracle"

The president announced the rescue just after midnight on Sunday in a Truth Social post. "WE GOT HIM!" he wrote, describing the operation as "one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History." Trump called the rescue an "Easter miracle" and said the colonel, who was seriously wounded, is now "SAFE and SOUND."

"This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour," the president wrote.

Monday's press conference will be the first opportunity for Trump and military officials to offer a detailed account of an operation that, in the president's own words, "is seldom attempted."