Iran has issued a death order: the U.S. pilot must be captured alive! On April 3, according to foreign media reports, the governor of Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province ordered local residents to search for the downed U.S. pilot. The provincial governor stated that anyone who captures or kills these pilots will receive special rewards, with priority given to capturing them alive. The entire province is now surrounded by an impenetrable net.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has issued orders to fully search for the missing pilot. Clearly, both the U.S. and Iran are now locked in a fierce struggle over the pilot. For Iran, capturing a U.S. pilot alive would be its strongest possible retaliation against America, greatly boosting domestic morale and intimidating the United States. Moreover, Iran could extract core secrets such as tactical data, communication protocols, and electronic warfare parameters.
If captured by Iran, the operational space available to Iran is indeed vast. Should Iran conduct a public trial or display the pilot publicly, it would undoubtedly severely damage American prestige. Of course, for the pilot himself, the outlook is grim. The region where he ejected—Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province—has extremely harsh terrain. Ninety percent of the province consists of mountains, gorges, steep slopes, and deep ravines.
The average elevation ranges from 1,400 to 4,000 meters, with the highest peak reaching 5,109 meters. The surface features rock, rubble slopes, dry shrubs, and oak forests, with virtually no flat land, extremely few roads, and narrow valleys. Clearly, even if the pilot survives, he will face severe challenges including lack of water, food, medical care, hypothermia, wild animals, and insects. The good news is that the area is highly suitable for concealment. The bad news is that U.S. rescue operations will be extremely difficult. With Iran now mobilized, it is highly likely the pilot will be captured alive.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861464619965643/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.