WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/DUBAI: The US military announced that it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a US Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman.
In a statement posted to social media, US Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” It comes after President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the US would respond.
“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. He said the two US pilots involved in the incident were both safe and uninjured. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he added.
His remarks threw into deeper uncertainty the prospects for a truce announced on April 8 in the war in the Gulf. On Monday, Israel and Iran said they would halt attacks on each other after an appeal by Trump to end their first direct exchanges of fire since April, but Tehran warned it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to attack its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the military will not leave attacks or threats unanswered.
“Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe,” Araghchi posted on X after the US attacks, which President Donald Trump described as retaliation for the downed helicopter.
A US Apache helicopter during a joint military exercise with Indonesia in Baturaja, South Sumatra on Aug.12, 2022. (AFP/File)
Monday’s flare-up added further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a first, a US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew members from the Apache attack helicopter that went down in waters near Oman’s coast, the US military told Reuters.
The US military’s Central Command said the AH-64 Apache went down at around 3am local time on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday).
The drone that carried out the rescue was a US Navy Corsair, which manufacturer Saronic says on its website is a 24-foot (7.3-meter) autonomous surface vessel (ASV) capable of carrying up to 1,000 lbs (454 kg) over 1,000 nautical miles.
“The drone picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson.
Hawkins said the drone was chosen for the mission due to its proximity and capability.
The US 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59, which operates in the region, is a dedicated unit for integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with everyday maritime operations.
Speaking earlier on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, Trump said there was “nobody injured.”
US Central Command used more cautious language to describe the condition of the two, saying they were in stable condition.
“The soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition. The cause of the incident is under investigation,” it said in a statement.
In Tehran, two Iranian air defense personnel were due to be buried on Tuesday afternoon after being killed in Israeli strikes the day before, Iran’s military said. No deaths were reported in Israel after the Iranian strikes.
