President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Iran of shooting down an Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz and said the United States would “respond.”
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that the two pilots involved in the attack were “safe and uninjured.” “Nevertheless, the United States must necessarily respond to this attack.”
President Trump did not say what the U.S. response would be. But his post suggested that tensions with Iran were escalating again, even though he had claimed hours earlier that a deal could be reached with Tehran as soon as this week.
President Trump said late Monday night after an NBA Finals game in New York City that the two countries are in the final stages of a “very, very good deal” that will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as it is signed.”
Such an agreement could be signed “within a few days,” Trump added. But he has repeatedly insisted during the war, which surpassed 100 days on Sunday, that the United States and Iran are on the brink of a deal. No agreement has been reached.
President Trump’s latest consensual comments came hours after the helicopter crash, according to U.S. Central Command, which announced Monday night that an American AH-64 Apache crashed “near the coast of Oman” at 7:33 p.m. ET.
Centcom said in a statement Tuesday morning that it did not initially blame Iran for the shootdown and that the incident was under investigation. The two soldiers involved in the crash were rescued within about two hours by U.S. Navy Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division, Centcom said.
Although Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for the downing of the helicopter, some Iranian sources have commented on the incident.
“It is enough that the Iranian military has been ‘annihilated’!” Iranian state broadcaster Press TV said on Telegram in response to President Trump’s truthful post.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made a cryptic threat to X, writing: “We prefer diplomatic languages, but we speak other languages much more fluently.”
“Break your promise, and we will switch to what speaks best. You will ride the horse in your own saddle!” Ghalibaf wrote.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s post.
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—CNBC’s Emma Graham and Megan Cassella contributed to this report.
