Trump: Iran Shot Down US Helicopter, Vows To Respond

President Donald Trump has accused Iran of shooting down a US helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond to the attack out of “necessity”.

Two crew members of the Apache helicopter that crashed following the attack were rescued by an American sea drone, US officials confirmed to the BBC. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

This is first loss of an Apache since the conflict with Iran began and comes after Trump earlier said Washington was in “the final throes” of a deal with Tehran to end the regional conflict.

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US Central Command (Centcom) earlier said the two “soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition” after their AH-64 Apache helicopter went down “near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters”.

“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on social media yesterday.

It is not immediately clear what that response will be. Minutes before Trump’s remarks, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, posted on social media: “We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently.

Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best.” Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, reports The Associated Press.