Donald Trump vows US response after Iran allegedly shoots down Apache helicopter over Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will respond after an American military helicopter was allegedly shot down by Iran while operating over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he had been informed by the US military that an Apache helicopter had been brought down during a patrol in the strategically critical waterway.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote.

The President said two pilots were on board the aircraft and survived the incident.

“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” he said.

Mr Trump indicated the United States would retaliate for the alleged attack.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he wrote.

The comments threaten to further escalate tensions between the US and Tehran at a time of heightened instability across the Middle East.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, carrying a significant portion of global oil and gas exports. Recent disruptions in the region have sparked concerns over energy supplies and raised fears of a broader conflict.

Mr Trump’s post did not provide further details about the incident, including when or where the helicopter was allegedly shot down, or what form any US response may take.

There has been no immediate public confirmation from the Pentagon and Iran has not yet commented on the claim.

On Monday, Israel and Iran said they would halt attacks on each other after an appeal by Mr 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.

In Tehran, two Iranian air defence personnel killed in Israeli strikes on Monday were due to be buried on Tuesday afternoon, Iran’s military said. No deaths were reported in Israel after the Iranian strikes.

In a parallel conflict, Israel struck the historic port city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people. It was the deadliest strike on the city since fighting erupted in Lebanon in early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Tehran after Israel and the United States began their war against Iran.

Israel had issued an evacuation order for the city earlier on Tuesday.

Residents fled and civil defence teams transported elderly residents into temporary shelters, state media reported. The eight victims were killed in a single strike on the city’s eastern edge, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Israel’s refusal to end its campaign in Lebanon, as Iran demands, has hindered Mr Trump’s efforts to extend a tenuous ceasefire in the wider US-Israeli war with Iran into a durable settlement.

Mr Trump told reporters in earlier remarks he might have “an idea” for an Iran deal within a few days, without elaborating. The Republican president, struggling with record-low approval ratings as November’s midterm elections approach, has often hinted at an imminent deal with Tehran, but none has yet materialised.

US and Israeli officials said Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken on Monday.

In an interview with Axios, Mr Trump said he had warned the Israeli leader not to return to war with Iran: “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon.’”

However, Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said on Tuesday that the attack Israel carried out against Iran the previous day was “in preparation for a much more significant and heavy blow”.

“We are prepared to return and deliver another severe and deep strike against Iran,” he said during a visit to training exercises in northern Israel.

Tehran has long said any peace deal with Washington depends in part on an end to fighting in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters who had fired across the border.

The latest development comes as the US continues diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing hostilities in the region, while warning that attacks on American forces or assets will not go unanswered.

- With Reuters