146. How the CIA Rescued a Pilot Inside Iran (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How involved were the CIA in the operation to rescue a US pilot stranded inside Iran? What does it take to "destroy" a nuclear programme? And what could Iran learn from North Korea? Listen as David and Gordon discuss the intricacies of the recent mission to extract a downed US Weapons Officer inside Iran and delve into how this operation might help the US and Israel launch an attack on Iran's nuclear programme. ------------------- THE REST IS CLASSIFIED LIVE 2026 at The Rest Is Fest: Buy your tickets ⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see David and Gordon live on stage at London’s Southbank Centre on 4 September. ------------------- Sign-up for our free newsletter where producer Becki takes you behind the scenes of the show: ⁠⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up⁠⁠ ------------------- Join the Declassified Club to go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts. ------------------- Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply. ------------------- Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠therestisclassified@goalhanger.com⁠⁠ ⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified⁠ Social Producer: Emma Jackson Producer: Becki Hills Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books.
0:13.1	Join the Declassified Club at the rest is classified.com.
0:17.3	Music What would it take to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities and how realistic is a special forces raid on the ground inside Iran?
0:36.7	Well, welcome to the rest is classified.
0:38.5	I'm Gordon Carrera.
0:39.6	And I'm David McCloskey.
0:41.1	And that is the subject we're looking at in these two episodes.
0:44.8	We're recording this.
0:45.5	We should say time-stamped on April the 9th in the middle, I guess, David, of what's
0:49.9	supposed to be a two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran.
0:53.6	Doesn't entirely look like a ceasefire.
0:56.1	Seasfire-ish, yeah. Seasfire adjacent. But it does feel like it's a good moment for us to take
1:01.7	stock of some of the big issues. And I think there's none bigger, is there, than this issue of
1:06.4	Iran's nuclear program and what happens to it? The nuclear program is one of the reasons, and I kind of say that with some trepidation
1:14.6	for Operation Epic Fury, because I do think the sort of the war aims have been many and have
1:22.3	moved a bit, I think we could say, throughout the conflict.
1:26.7	But certainly the nuclear program was among the top
1:30.9	reasons given by President Trump when he announced the operation in his Truth Social Post.
1:37.1	Back in February, you know, he outlined at least four military objectives preventing Iran
1:42.6	from acquiring a nuclear weapon was was at the
1:45.6	top of the list.
	...

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