American to rescue a pilot, spent nearly 3 billion dollars!​

After the fighter jet was shot down, two crew members ejected; one was quickly rescued by the US military, the other twisted his ankle, clutching a pistol and a communication device, hiding in the Zagros Mountains of Iran for 36 hours. The more he hid, the higher he went, eventually sheltering in a crevice over 2000 meters high.​
Iran also didn’t sit idle, offering a $60k bounty, mobilising mountain villagers armed with guns to search, sweeping the area like a net. As the searchers nearly reached the crevice, the US grew anxious. The CIA first released false information: “The person has been found and is being evacuated from the ground!” At the same time, dozens of aircraft and drones circled within 3 kilometres of the pilot, creating a “fire support zone”, jamming Iran’s electronic equipment, and blowing up nearby roads to prevent access. Finally, the Navy SEAL Team 6 stormed in and found the person.​
But there was another problem during the evacuation! Two transport planes responsible for the rescue suddenly broke down and couldn’t take off. The US had no choice but to send small planes to pick up the personnel, and they also destroyed the broken aircraft and four helicopters, fearing Iran would salvage them. However, Iran claimed they shot down two US helicopters and two transport planes, accusing the US of trying to cover up the incident.​
Why are both sides so determined? It’s not really about saving a pilot’s life. For the US, if the