In an interview with Axios, Trump said that he and top officials feared that Iran was leading them into a trap during the rescue mission to extract a downed F-15 crew member from Iran, who had ejected from his aircraft after it was shot down by Iranian forces.

In a daring special operation involving more than 200 elite troops, the air force member was pulled out Saturday after surviving in mountainous terrain for over 24 hours.

In the interview, Trump dismissed Iran’s ability to shoot down an American aircraft for the first time, saying, “They got lucky.” But he said that U.S. officials initially believed a message sent by the stranded officer was an Iranian trick to lure them into a deadly trap.

Describing the desperate manhunt unfolding across the mountains, Trump said that it was a race between U.S. and Iranian forces, as “thousands of these savages were hunting him down. Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him.” The president said that the officer concealed himself in a crevice in the mountain while U.S. forces sought his location, using “beeping information.” But then a strange message sent them into a tizzy of concern.

The message, Trump said, was “Power be to God,” which officials later clarified was “God is good” as the exact wording. Could the Iranians be using this message, “sending false signals,” to lure U.S. special operations officers into an ambush?

“What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” the president explained.

However, others who personally knew the officer reassured the administration that this type of message was normal for the religious officer.

“It was not completely clear early on, but we stuck with it and verified he was alive and not captured. And those who knew him said he is religious,” a defense official said.

In the interview, Trump also praised the IDF for helping “a little bit” in the rescue mission. While the Israeli military did not provide direct intelligence regarding the officer’s location, it did provide more general intelligence on the situation on the ground, and the Israeli Air Force also carried out a strike to block Iranian forces from reaching the location.

“They have been good partners,” Trump said about Israel. “They have been great and brave people. We are like a big brother and little brother.”