Volume 45 Issue Five May 2026
Last Trumpet Ministries ∙ PO Box 806 ∙ Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” I Cor. 14:8
“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.” - Psalm 71:1
As we enter May 2026, the United States is still at war with Iran. The events surrounding this conflict have taken many twists and turns in recent weeks. Although the fighting itself has quieted, there remains great uncertainty about when, or if, it might resume. Nevertheless, the consequences of this war are being felt around the world and threaten to disrupt everyday life in unprecedented ways. In this edition of the Last Trumpet, we will look back at these recent events and consider their potential implications for the future.
A Close Call
As April began, the coalition between the United States and Israel was heavily involved in combat operations against Iran. From the start of the war, coalition forces have mostly imposed their will over Iranian territory without significant resistance. However, on April 3, 2026, an American F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iranian territory. The two crew members onboard were forced to eject from the plane, leading to the dire possibility of American soldiers falling into the hands of the Iranian regime. For the first time since the war began, American forces would set foot on Iranian soil to conduct two daring rescue missions in a high-stakes race against time. (1)
The pilot was located and found within hours, but the whereabouts of the weapons systems officer remained a mystery. (2) To pinpoint his location, the U.S. military enlisted the help of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA used its secret technology to locate the missing soldier who had been stuck behind enemy lines for more than 24 hours. “This was the ultimate needle in a haystack, but in this case it was a brave American soul inside a mountain crevice, invisible but for CIA’s capabilities,” an unnamed U.S. official told Axios. (3)
The search was conducted with great urgency. Not only were the Americans looking for the soldier, but so too were the Iranians. “This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” wrote American President Donald Trump. (4)
In an effort to find the American soldier before he could be rescued, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps offered a reward of about $66,000 to any Iranian citizen who could locate him. (5) This is a tremendous amount of money for an Iranian citizen, and many were no doubt highly motivated to find the missing airman.
With the soldier safely recovered, Trump recounted some of the details of the rescue mission to Axios. He explained that the military aircraft had been hit by a shoulder-fired missile. “They got lucky,” Trump admitted. He then explained that American officials were worried at first that the soldier had already been captured by the Iranians because of an unusual final radio message. “God is good,” the airman said as he ejected from the aircraft. “What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” Trump opined. However, those who knew the soldier told officials the man was religious, and so they moved forward with a rescue mission involving two hundred soldiers. (6) Had Iran been successful in its endeavors to locate the airman, it could have changed the trajectory of the war. Capturing the soldier would have given the regime leverage in negotiations and could have easily resulted in the American being imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Thankfully, he was rescued before Iran got their hands on him. God is good, indeed.
