India, April 7 -- US secretary of defene Pete Hegseth on Monday said that the coordination call held by national security officials during the mission to rescue the F-15E weapons systems officer (WSO) lasted nearly two days straight, starting just hours after the jet was downed by Iran over its territory.

Speaking in front of a room packed with reporters at the White House alongside US President Donald Trump, CIA director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, Hegseth said the mission was "unblinking".

"For 45 hours and 56 minutes, we held that call open for coordination," Hegseth said, describing the call that was held in a secure facility. "Our mission was unblinking."

Hegseth continued, "The meeting n...