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The president Donald Trump announced this Tuesday that Iran shot down a U.S. Army Apache helicopter while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz the previous night, and warned that Washington will respond to the attack.
The statement, published on Truth Social, represents a significant turnaround from what the president had said just hours earlier.
"I have just been informed by our Great Armed Forces that last night the Iranians shot down one of our sophisticated Apache helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz," wrote Trump. "There were two pilots involved, both are safe and sound. However, the United States must, out of necessity, respond to this attack."
Before publishing that message, Trump had told journalists in New York —after attending the NBA finals— that "the pilots are fine, no one was injured," without attributing the incident to Iran or providing a definitive cause. The New York Times reported on Monday that the cause of the crash was unclear, ruling out neither mechanical failure nor hostile fire.
If confirmed, this would be the first Apache downed since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran that began on February 28, 2026, with coordinated airstrikes by Washington and Israel against Iranian military and nuclear facilities.
The Apache operated in the Strait of Hormuz, the central area of the conflict where the U.S. maintains a naval blockade and has used these aircraft to attack fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
In May, Apache helicopters repelled an Iranian attack involving missiles, drones, and speedboats against three American destroyers, destroying six enemy vessels.
The balance of accumulated air losses in Operation Epic Fury is significant. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service published in May, the U.S. military has lost or damaged at least 42 aircraft, including five fighter jets, seven KC-135 Stratotankers, and more than two dozen drones.
The announcement comes at a time of extreme diplomatic and military fragility. On Monday, Iran launched 11 missiles against Israel —the first in two months—, all intercepted without casualties, while the Israeli Air Force bombed targets in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr.
Tehran announced on the same day the suspension of its operations against Israel, contingent upon the Hebrew State halting its attacks in Lebanon.
In diplomatic terms, negotiations between Washington and Tehran had progressed toward a preliminary agreement on May 28 to extend the ceasefire by 60 days, but Iran suspended them on June 1 citing Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Abás Araqchí then stated that the ceasefire with the U.S. "includes all fronts, including Lebanon," while the Iranian negotiating team warned that "there will be no dialogue or exchange of messages with Washington until hostilities in Lebanon cease."
It is in this context of broken negotiations and a fragile ceasefire where Trump is now announcing the retaliation, without yet specifying its scope or form.
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