"The US must respond":Trump accuses Iran of downing US military helicopter and warns of a response
Donald Trump has called for retaliation against Iran after an American helicopter was shot down.
A drone boat rescued two pilots who were on the Apache attack helicopter when it crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed.
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump said: ‘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.
‘There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, by necessity, respond to this attack.’
Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said it was the first known drone rescue at sea by the American forces.
Military officials did not say what caused the Apache helicopter to go down, stating the crash was under investigation, but Trump said he learned Iran was responsible before posting.
A senior military official told Axios that an investigation found that an Iranian drone struck the AH-64 Apache, but the official emphasized they had not yet determined whether that was an intentional attack by Iran.
Before he accused Iran of shooting down the helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.
‘We have a good chance’ of signing a deal in ‘two or three days,’ Trump said. But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.
‘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 if we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But the Strait won’t be open for months.’
The US negotiations center on demands that Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried in the aftermath of American airstrikes that occurred during the 12-day war in 2025.
But Iran is refusing that and is demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.
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