The U.S. operation near Isfahan, Iran was not solely a pilot rescue mission. In fact, it might not have been at all, as the aircraft crashed near the Iran-Iraq border.

Axar.az reports that Professor of International Law Farhad Mehdiyev made these remarks.

He emphasized that the U.S. pilots carried encrypted radio beacons, whose locations were already precisely known by the U.S., and suggested a different possibility.

“The presence of two C-130 aircraft capable of carrying special equipment, and their complete destruction after the operation, indicates that there were other objectives. For a standard rescue, a few helicopters and aerial support would have been sufficient.

One possible goal of this mission could have been to identify hidden Iranian air defense systems, retrieve intelligence equipment, or accurately assess Iran’s resistance capabilities.

Therefore, in addition to the officially stated goal, the operation may have aimed to conduct preliminary testing and gather intelligence ahead of a potential ground intervention. It should also be noted that the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center is located in the area.”

The professor believes that the likelihood of a ground operation in Iran in the coming week is very high.

“The resignation of nearly 20 Pentagon generals by Hegseth (U.S. Secretary of Defense – ed.) also suggests that the generals opposed a ground operation, yet Trump is insisting on it.

In any case, a ground operation would have two main objectives: to seize the Gulf on one hand, and to extract enriched uranium and completely destroy associated equipment, including centrifuges, on the other.”