U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on the 5th (local time) after visiting Trump National Golf Club. [Yonhap News]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 5th (local time) that the U.S. military was concerned that the location signal of a U.S. military officer who had ejected from an F-15E fighter jet shot down by Iran and survived in enemy territory for over 24 hours before being rescued might be an Iranian ploy.

In an interview with Axios, a U.S. media outlet, conducted about an hour after the officer was rescued, President Trump shared behind-the-scenes details of the rescue operation.

The F-15E fighter jet was shot down by an Iranian missile on the 3rd, and the two crew members, a U.S. pilot and a weapons systems officer, ejected safely. The pilot was rescued immediately, but the whereabouts of the weapons officer were unknown for a while, leading to an intense search by both U.S. and Iranian forces.

President Trump confirmed the officer's rescue on his social media platform, Truth Social, the previous day, stating, "The U.S. military completed one of the boldest search and rescue operations in American history."

In his interview on the 5th, President Trump said that the U.S. military detected a beeping signal related to the officer's location.

However, he conveyed that officials raised concerns that the officer might have been captured by Iran, and that Iran might have been sending "false signals" to lure U.S. forces into a trap.

President Trump said that about 200 soldiers from special operations forces participated in the rescue operation.

He also explained that the officer had been hiding in a crevice in the mountains and that the U.S. was able to locate him by utilizing advanced technology.

A Department of Defense official told Axios in relation to this, "While the situation was not clear initially, we trusted the information and confirmed that he was alive and not captured."

President Trump also claimed that Iran shot down the F-15E fighter jet using a shoulder-fired missile, attributing it to "luck."

Referring to the Iranian forces, President Trump said, "Thousands of savages were tracking him." He added, "Even ordinary citizens were looking for him, and they offered a bounty if he was captured alive."

President Trump mentioned that Israel provided some assistance to the U.S. military during the search and rescue operation of the fighter jet crew, stating, "They were good partners. Wonderful, brave people. We have a relationship like an older brother and a younger brother."

Earlier, Israeli officials stated that the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike once to prevent Iranian forces from approaching the rescue operation area.

In addition, President Trump shared that after the officer ejected from the plane, he sent a message via radio saying, "Power be to God."

Regarding this, President Trump commented, "It sounded like something a Muslim would say."

However, those who know the officer explained that he is a devout believer and that it was natural for him to say such a thing, President Trump added.

Nonetheless, a Department of Defense official told Axios that the exact phrase the officer uttered was "God is good."