Jon Gambrell, Darlene Superville and Konstantin Toropin
Updated ,first published
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: President Donald Trump blamed Iran for shooting down a US military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and said the US must respond.
In the first known operation of its kind by the U.S. military, the U.S. said an unmanned aerial vehicle rescued two people aboard an Apache attack helicopter when it went down near a key shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel.
Trump said in social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our most sophisticated Apache helicopters.” He added that all service members were “safe and unharmed”.
“However, the United States must, must, respond to these attacks,” Trump wrote on Tuesday (US time).
Immediately after Trump made his accusations, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the Strait of Hormuz is “thousands of miles from the US shore”.
“Foreign forces close to our territory are in constant danger because of their human error, open accidents, or the possibility of being caught in combat,” Araghchi wrote. “To reduce the risk, the best solution is for them to leave.”
New York Times information that Iran’s one-way Shahed attack downed the US helicopter, citing a US official.
The incident worsened a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchange fire for the first time since the fragile agreement began to be implemented. Iran’s 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 attacking Iran on February 28, the war has rocked the world economy, raised energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.
Officials have failed to turn the April ceasefire into an agreement to end the conflict completelyespecially when Israel increases and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
The airmen were rescued at about 3:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, two hours after their helicopter crashed while on patrol off the coast of Oman, the US Central Command said.
The U.S. soldiers were spotted and picked up by an unmanned aerial vehicle that took them to another location in the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Captain Tim Hawkins. Hawkins initially said the drone took the pair to the beach and did not elaborate on the updated schedule.
It was the first drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.
The AH-64 Apache helicopters have been an important asset for the US military as it enforces sanctions against Iran’s crude oil shipments and oil tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
The drone used in the rescue was a 7.3-meter vessel called the Corsair, Hawkins said.
The drone was assigned to the Navy’s 59th Task Force, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
Before accusing Iran of shooting down the US helicopter, Trump had expressed his hope for talks with Iran.
“We have a good chance” of signing the deal in “two or three days,” Trump said late Monday. But he gave no explanation as to why there was reason for renewed hope. In the two months since the US and Iran agreed to a cease-fire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is close.
“We are very close to having a very good, strong and powerful plan,” the president said.
Mediators, led by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to reach an agreement. However, Iran and the United States have taken strong positions.
The United States wants to see Iran release its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to have been buried after US airstrikes during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran rejects that and demands the lifting of sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final deal is made, which has been rejected by Trump.
Ahead of Trump’s comments on the talks, Qalibaf said on Monday that Trump’s statements so far about a possible deal “contrary to the agreed parts”, showing that the US is “not looking for a ceasefire or negotiations”.
Continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah remains a top priority for Iran as well. The head of the Lebanese army, General Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key player in Iran-US talks.
Haykal’s visit comes at a time when the Lebanese government is taking a tough stance against Hezbollah but is still unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people”, suggesting that the Lebanese government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.
At the same time, the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for the southern Lebanese 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 airstrikes hit the Mediterranean coast in the past two weeks.
After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army was sent to the Christian district of Tire to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.
But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli army “will have to take action against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”
AP
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