Donald Trump has called for revenge on Iran after an American helicopter was shot down.
A drone boat rescued two pilots who were on the Apache attack helicopter when it crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed.
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump said: ‘I even have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one among our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.
‘There have been two pilots involved, each are secure and unhurt. Nevertheless, america must, of necessity, reply to this attack.’
Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command said it was the primary known drone rescue at sea by the American forces.
Military officials didn’t say what caused the Apache helicopter to go down, saying the crash was under investigation but Trump said he learned Iran was responsible before posting.
Enroll for all of the newest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
A senior military official told Axios that an investigation determined that an Iranian drone struck the AH-64 Apache however the official stressed that they had not yet determined whether that was an intentional Iran attack.
Before he accused Iran of shooting down the helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.
‘We’ve likelihood’ of signing a deal in ‘two or three days,’ Trump said. But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for brand spanking new optimism. Within the two months for the reason that U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.
‘We’re very near having a really, superb, strong, powerful deal,’ the president said.
‘If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we wish, and we spend one other two or three weeks bombing — they’ll don’t have anything left by any means. But you won’t have the Strait open for months.’
This can be a breaking news story… More to follow…
MORE: US Apache helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz sparking fears it was ‘shot down’
MORE: Trump has promised peace with Iran 37 times – when can we call his bluff?
MORE: Donald Trump thunderously booed by crowd during basketball game in Recent York