DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the downing of a US Army helicopter nearby the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and said the United States should respond to the attack.
In the first known operation of its kind by the US military, a drone boat rescued the two airmen aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it crashed near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the US and Israel.
Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our very sophisticated Apache helicopters.” He added that both service members “are safe and unharmed”.
“However, the United States must respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.
Shortly before Trump’s tweet, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on X: “We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages much more fluently. Break your commitments and we will switch to what we speak best. You ride the horse you saddled!”
The helicopter crash further strained a two-month ceasefire a day later Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile ceasefire took effect. Iranian state television said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes killed at least two members of the country’s air defense units.
Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, war has been going on shook the global economyraised energy prices worldwide and made many bases, including foodmore expensive.
Officials have not been able to return April truce in an agreement to end the conflict for good, especially as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
Army crew members were captured by drone
The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday off the coast of Oman while the helicopter was on patrol, US Central Command said.
An unmanned boat found the two airmen after they spent about two hours in the water, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. He said it was the first known drone rescue at sea by the US military.
Military officials did not say what caused the Apache helicopter to crash, saying the crash was under investigation. Trump said he had only just learned that Iran was responsible before posting his accusation on Tuesday.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the US military as it imposes a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran for a deal. Helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) craft called the Corsair, Hawkins said. It is manufactured by Saronic Technologies.
The drone was assigned to Navy Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first unmanned and artificial intelligence unit focused on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
Trump insists a deal with Iran is coming
Before accusing Iran of shooting down the US helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism for negotiations with Iran.
“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said late Monday. But he gave no details on why there was reason for renewed optimism. In the two months since the US and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is close.
“We are very close to reaching a very, very good, strong and powerful agreement,” the president said. “If we go and bomb — which we can do very easily if we want, and spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left. But you won’t have the straits open for months.”
He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people will be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”
Mediators, led mainly 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 to be buried after US airstrikes that took place during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing this and is demanding relief from sanctions. It also calls for the release of frozen assets even before a final deal is reached, something Trump has rejected.
Ahead of Trump’s comments on the negotiations, Kalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks so far about a possible deal “contrary to the agreed sections,” indicating that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”
Continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is also a top Iranian priority. Lebanese army chief General Rodolphe Haykal traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munirwho has been a key figure in the Iran-US talks.
Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly tough line on Hezbollah but is unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people”, suggesting that Lebanon’s government should use this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.
Israel issues warning for Tire, Lebanon
Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes in the city.
Last week, Israel warned Christian neighborhoods in Tire that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shia Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli attacks hit the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.
After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian neighborhood of Tire in an attempt to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, of the Israeli army spokeswoman in Arabicposted on X on Monday that the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”
By JON GAMBRELL, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press
Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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