Trump says Iran shot down Apache helicopter, US must retaliate

Iran was behind the shooting down of a US Apache helicopter on Monday, and the United States has to retaliate, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday on his Truth Social platform.

Around midday in Washington, he said that the US military had just informed him that the "Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.

"There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured.

"Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."

He did not elaborate on what that response might be.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Trump has been trying to get an agreement with the Iranians for much of the time ever since.

Two crew members were safely rescued by US forces, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed earlier on Tuesday.

"The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition," CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation.

It added that the military helicopter went down "while patrolling regional waters."

Apache attack helicopters are primarily used for precision strikes, close air support, and air reconnaissance, according to information on the CENTCOM website.

US media cited the military as saying that the two crew members had been located and rescued by an unmanned vessel, a drone boat.

TV network NBC News described it as a first for the US military.

According to CNN, the crew members were then winched to safety by a helicopter.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on foreign forces in The Gulf to leave the region following the helicopter crash.

"Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire. To reduce risk, [the] best solution is for them to leave." the minister posted on X on Tuesday in English.

"We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too," Araghchi added.

On Sunday, Iran's armed forces fired missiles at Israel for the first time in two months despite a ceasefire agreed with the US. In response, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Iran.

Both countries announced later on Monday that they would suspend the mutual hostilities.

A ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been in place since April 8, agreed more than a month after the US and Israel began their war against Iran.

Trump is seeking an agreement with Iran to end the conflict in the long term. The latest developments, however, are a major stress test for the talks.

Trump has so far played down the consequences and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also have to accept an agreement.