WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced on June 9 that Iran was responsible for downing a U.S. attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, and vowed that the United States 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 said in a Truth Social post.
“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
A U.S. Navy drone boat was used to retrieve two crewmen from a U.S. Army helicopter flight crew who went down off the coast of Oman on June 8, marking the first time the U.S. military has used such a system to effect a rescue….