Republika Srpska

DODIK CONGRATULATES TRUMP AND HEGSETH ON SUCCESSFUL RESCUE OF PILOTS FROM IRAN

Republika Srpska - USA

04/06/2026

20:50

DODIK CONGRATULATES TRUMP AND HEGSETH ON SUCCESSFUL RESCUE OF PILOTS FROM IRAN
Photo: SRNA

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 6 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader, Milorad Dodik, congratulated the President of the United States Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of War Peter Hegseth on the historic mission to rescue two American pilots in the Iranian desert, one of whom was seriously wounded.

“The rescue operation was carried out by the U.S. Army and the CIA. Exceptional military equipment, as well as the skill and abilities of U.S. soldiers on the ground, made this dangerous operation successful and heroic,” Dodik stated.

He emphasized that the Serb people proudly remember Operation Halyard from World War II, when members of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, composed exclusively of Serbs, together with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, organised the hiding and evacuation of more than 500 Allied pilots, mostly Americans.

“At that time we were allies, and we intend to remain so today! Congratulations on the courage, President Trump, to you for the decision, and to everyone who participated in this heroic operation and victory in the Iranian desert,” Dodik posted on X.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that American forces managed to locate and rescue the second crew member of the aircraft that had been shot down deep inside Iranian territory.

Responsibility for the attack on the American aircraft, which carried two crew members, was claimed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.