ALBAWABA- U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will respond after confirming that Iran shot down a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter operating near the Strait of Hormuz, according to remarks made Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York following an NBA Finals game, Trump said the crew survived the incident and that a full military assessment would be released shortly.
“The pilots are fine. Yeah. Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine,” Trump said, adding that the aircraft had been downed in what he described as an Iranian attack.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the cause of the Apache helicopter's going down during a routine patrol mission in the early hours of Tuesday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman.
Both crew members were rescued within approximately two hours in an operation involving a U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessel.f the incident remains under investigation, with officials still assessing whether the aircraft was struck by hostile fire or brought down by other factors.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint, has been at the center of heightened tensions involving the United States and Iran amid broader regional instability linked to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
While Trump attributed the downing to Iran and said the United States would respond, military officials have not yet released independent confirmation or operational details supporting the claim.
No immediate U.S. military action has been announced. Officials say the focus remains on determining the exact cause of the incident as the CENTCOM investigation continues.
