By US President Donald Trump says Iran shot down helicopter patrolling Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump has said a AH-64 Apache helicopter was shot down by Iranian fire. (Reuters: Ints Kalnins)
In short:
US President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for shooting down a US Apache helicopter patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.
The two pilots were unharmed and rescued by a drone boat.
What’s next?
Mr Trump has vowed to respond “to this attack”.
US President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for shooting down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond.
Two crew members aboard a US Army Apache attack helicopter were rescued by a US sea drone after the aircraft crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday morning local time (9:33pm AEST).
“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,” Mr Trump wrote in a social media post.
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
Donald Trump has said the US must “respond” to an American helicopter being targeted by Iran. (Reuters: Nathan Howard)
Both crew members were uninjured in the crash, according to Mr Trump.
A drone boat rescued the crew that crashed off the coast from Oman, according to Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command.
He said the unmanned boat found the two aviators and brought them to shore after they had spent about two hours in the water.
It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the US military, he said.
But Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the US not to break its promise or risk escalation moments before Mr Trump said he “must” respond to Iran.
“We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently,” he wrote on X.
“Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best. You ride the horse you saddled!”
The helicopter crash came a day after Israel and Iran halted direct attacks on each other after an appeal by Mr Trump for them to stop, but Tehran said it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon.
When asked earlier in the day what had brought the helicopter down, Mr Trump said a report would be issued later.
He later said he believed a peace with Iran to end the war was imminent.
“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Mr Trump said at the time.
Originally published on www.abc.net.au — View original