The U.S. military initially thought a message it received from the airman stranded in Iran was from the Iranians who were setting a trap for American rescurers.

In an interview with Axios, President Donald Trump said that there were "thousands of these savages" who "were hunting" the airman. He was hiding out in the Iran mountains with nothing but a pistol. 

Trump said that a reward was offered for the capture of the airman, and so even the civilian population was looking for him. 

The U.S. military, Trump said, was receiving signals from the officer's location. After a radio message was received, officials thought that the airman was being held captive and the Iranians were sending the signal to lure Americans into an ambush. 

Before ejecting from the aircraft, the airman had said a religious message, later confirmed to be "God is good." Fearing it was something a Muslim would say, suspicions were raised. People who knew the airman confirmed he is religious, and he was determined to be alive and not in captivity. 

He was rescued in daylight under heavy fire, Trump said, according to the Axios report.