President Trump said Tuesday that the United States will respond after Iran shot down an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears that the fragile cease-fire in the region could be on the verge of collapse.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
Iran quickly signaled it was prepared for whatever comes next.
“We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently,” Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement.
“Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best.”
The helicopter was reportedly shot down Monday evening near the coast of Oman while conducting patrol operations connected to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
According to U.S. Central Command, the two pilots survived the incident and spent roughly two hours in the water before being rescued by an unmanned Navy drone vessel. Officials said it marked the first time one of the military’s advanced drone boats had been used in a rescue operation.
The incident came amid escalating tensions in the Gulf. Earlier Monday, a U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet reportedly disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that attempted to breach the American blockade.
Apache helicopters, which cost more than $35 million each, have been heavily utilized during the conflict to patrol the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. The aircraft have also been used by regional allies to intercept Iranian drone attacks.
Despite the latest confrontation, Trump insisted a broader agreement with Tehran remains within reach.
“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” Trump told reporters early Tuesday.
“If we go and bomb, which we can do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they’ll have nothing left whatsoever.”
“But you won’t have the strait open for months,” he added. “If we do the bombing, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”
The president’s comments came after Iran’s military announced Monday that it was halting offensive operations against Israel following a fresh round of missile exchanges between the two countries.
Trump claimed both sides had agreed through his mediation efforts to stop attacking one another and suggested a larger agreement could soon follow.
“They were going back and forth [with strikes], and now they both agreed, through me, to stop, and now we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” Trump said.
He also reiterated that any agreement would require Iran to abandon any path toward obtaining nuclear weapons and would result in the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“And the strait will open up,” Trump said. “They’ll open up immediately upon signing.”
For now, however, the shootdown of a U.S. military aircraft has injected fresh uncertainty into negotiations and increased pressure on Washington to determine its next move.
The post Trump Vows Response After Iran Downs US Apache Helicopter Over Strait Of Hormuz appeared first on Real News Now.
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