- US President Donald Trump confirmed Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz
- Both crew members were safely rescued after spending two hours in the water
- Trump said that the US "must" respond to the attack by Iran
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that a US military helicopter was shot down by Iran. He said in a statement that the United States “must” respond to the attack.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he had been informed "that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz."
He reiterated that the two pilots were safe and uninjured but ended the social media post with a warning.
"The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he said in the post on Truth Social.
What Happened When The Helicopter Was Shot
After a US Army Apache helicopter gunship went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Trump said that the two crew members on the aircraft were safely rescued and were 'fine'.
The helicopter was shot a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire, in the biggest blow yet to the strained ceasefire in the Iran war. The crash happened off the coast of Oman while the helicopter was on a patrol, the US Central Command said.
In a first known drone rescue at sea by the US military, an unmanned boat located the two pilots who were in the water for two hours, Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said.
Before Trump accused Iran of downing the aircraft, he was very optimistic about negotiations with Iran.
"We have a good chance" of signing a deal in "two or three days," Trump said.
"We're very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal," the president said. "If we go and bomb - which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing - they'll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won't have the strait open for months."
He added, "If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don't."
Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the US have taken hard-line positions.
The US wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed still to be entombed in the country after American airstrikes in the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
