The President of the United States, Donald Trump, accused Iran on Tuesday (9) of having shot down the Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Trump also said that the US “will need to respond” to the Iranian attack.
“I have just been informed by our Great Armed Forces that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache helicopters while on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots on board, and both are safe and unharmed. Still, the United States must necessarily respond to this attack,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump did not provide further details on how or when the US would respond to the Iranian attack, and it remains to be seen how the incident will shape its actions on the conflict.
The American president has been trying to reach a peace agreement with Iran, which has included putting a blanket over violations of the fragile ceasefire made by Israel and Iran in recent days. On Monday, Trump said a deal would be in the “final phase” and could take another “two or three days.”
A US military official told US website Axios that an Iranian drone struck the helicopter and brought it down. The investigation into the incident has not yet determined, however, whether the drone attack on the Apache was intentional.
The Iranian government had not publicly commented on the incident until the last update of this report.
Apache helicopter crash in Hormuz
The Apache helicopter was operating in the Strait of Hormuz region when it crashed around 6:30 p.m. Monday, according to U.S. Army Central Command. The two crew members were rescued in stable condition about two hours after the incident.
Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the ministry, stated that the rescue of the soldiers took place in the water and was carried out with an unmanned drone boat. The model of the equipment is not yet known, only that it is around seven meters long.
The cause of the helicopter crash is under investigation, according to the US Army. This would have been the first Apache helicopter lost by the US during the war in the Middle East, which has been ongoing since February 28. Previously, the US military suffered drone losses in the region.
