A day after US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US lost an Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran issued a clarification stating that it did not intentionally attack the helicopter, but rather a human error.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he was informed by the US military that the “Iranians have shot down one of our most sophisticated Apache helicopters, while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.”
"There were two pilots in the helicopter, and both are safe and unharmed. However, the United States must, by necessity, respond to this attack." Trump said. He later told the Wall Street Journal that the shooting down of the helicopter was "no big deal”.
According to reports, the Apache helicopter crashed after colliding with an Iranian Shahed drone, and the chopper was on patrol when the attack happened.
Soon after, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi responded to Trump's statement. "Foreign forces near our territory are at constant risk due to human error, simple accidents, or the potential for being caught in the crossfire. To reduce the risk, the best solution is for them to leave. We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we also speak other languages."
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib-Abadi later clarified that the act was not intentional. Gharib-Abadi told Al Jazeera that Iran did not intentionally attack the helicopter, and there is a possibility that such incidents will occur due to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
In retaliation for the downing of the helicopter, the US military attacked targets in Iran overnight. The Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had completed a round of strikes, which included Iranian air defence sites, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, there were reports that Trump was not convinced of the need to retaliate against Iran after the Apache helicopter crash early Tuesday. Though he initially downplayed the incident, a briefing by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine changed his opinion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
