Trump blames Iran for helicopter attack, says US must respond
- Helicopter was patrolling Strait of Hormuz, says US president
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz overnight and vowed to respond, but gave no other details.
“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 in a social media post.
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump said.
The episode adds further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz, a vital conduit for international trade in energy and other commodities.
In remarks earlier on Tuesday about the downing of the Apache, Trump said the two pilots were “fine” following their rescue, but made no comment about what brought the Apache down.
A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew, the US military told Reuters. U.S. Central Command said the AH-64 Apache went down at around 3 am on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday).
Comments