U.S. President Donald Trump looks at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., June 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
10 Jun 2026 01:05AM
(Updated: 10 Jun 2026 05:01AM)
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/DUBAI: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jun 9) Iran had shot down an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond, deepening doubts about prospects for peace between the two countries. Trump said the two US pilots involved in the incident were uninjured."Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he said on social media.Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly address the incident, but said foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire. "To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave," he said on social media.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 petroleum and other commodities. Trump has repeatedly said Iran and the United States are close to an agreement, though there have been few signs of progress since a tenuous ceasefire took effect in early April.A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew, the US military said, after the US Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman's coast while on patrol at around 3.00am on Tuesday. The US military's Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the soldiers were rescued after two hours and said they were in stable condition - a more cautious assessment than Trump's description.
