U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Iran of shooting down an American Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and said Washington would respond, sharply raising tensions around one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
Trump said in a social media post that he had been informed by the U.S. military that Iranian forces shot down what he described as a “highly sophisticated Apache helicopter” while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz overnight.
“The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump said, without giving details on the timing or nature of any possible U.S. action.
The claim came hours after U.S. Central Command said two crew members from an Army AH-64 Apache had been rescued after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters. CENTCOM said the soldiers were recovered by American forces within about two hours and were in stable condition.
CENTCOM has not publicly confirmed that the helicopter was shot down, saying only that the cause of the incident remains under investigation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the pilots were “fine” and that nobody had been injured. U.S. officials had said the crew was rescued by a U.S. Navy surface drone, marking a rare operational use of an unmanned maritime system in a rescue mission.
The incident comes at a highly sensitive moment in the Gulf, where Iran and the United States have been locked in a tense military standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is a critical route for global energy shipments.
Tensions had appeared to ease briefly after Iran and Israel said they would halt attacks on each other following a U.S. appeal. But the pause has remained fragile, with Israel continuing strikes in Lebanon and Tehran warning that further attacks on its allies could trigger renewed retaliation.
Reuters reported earlier that it was not clear whether the Apache had been shot down, suffered mechanical failure or encountered another problem. Trump’s latest statement, however, marks the first direct accusation from the U.S. president that Iran was responsible.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately provide further details on what evidence led Trump to blame Iran, or whether any military response had already been authorized.
Any confirmed Iranian attack on a U.S. military aircraft would mark a major escalation in a conflict that has already disrupted shipping, pushed regional forces onto high alert and complicated Trump’s stated effort to secure a broader deal with Tehran.
Iranian officials have not yet issued a public response to Trump’s accusation.
