India, April 7 -- In a rare and striking admission, US President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces deliberately destroyed their own aircraft during a high-risk rescue mission deep inside Iranian territory, an operation that has exposed the extraordinary scale, secrecy, and escalating dangers of Washington's expanding military campaign.

The revelation came as new details emerged about one of the most complex combat search-and-rescue operations in modern US military history, involving an astonishing deployment of airpower and covert deception tactics. According to officials, the mission was so sensitive that US forces ultimately chose to destroy their own aircraft rather than risk advanced systems falling into Iranian hands, a m...