The US military's Central Command said the AH-64 Apache went down at around 3am local time on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday) near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters. It gave no reason for the crash.
Trump initially did not comment on what may have caused the incident. However, in a post on Truth Social later today, he said: "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. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."
Around the same time, Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf said on X: "We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we'll switch to what we speak best."
Trump earlier said that negotiations between the US and Iran remained ongoing, just hours after Iran and Israel agreed to halt attacks on one another that threatened to shatter a shaky ceasefire.
Trump said the talks with Tehran did not stop during the escalation in violence, signalling that a deal to formally end the war could be reached within "one or two days from now, but I think it's going well."
"They were going back and forth, and now they both agreed through me to stop, and we're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, etc.," the US president told reporters as he prepared to return to the White House after attending an NBA finals game in New York.
"The Strait (of Hormuz) will open up right away, it'll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days," he added.Iran state media says two military personnel killed in Israeli strikes on Monday
Iranian state television on Tuesday said at least two members of the army's air defence force were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier in the Middle East war's latest exchange of fire, which both sides said they have halted.
"These esteemed martyrs of the Army Air Defence Force attained martyrdom while carrying out their mission of defending the country's skies during yesterday's (Monday) aggression by the Zionist regime," state television said.
Trump says missiles were ‘on their way’ to Iran when he spoke to Netanyahu
According to a reported conversation with the BBC, US President Trump has denied that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu defied him by attacking Iran in retaliation for missile attacks on Israel, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.
In their dialogue with Netanyahu, Trump told him to “use common sense” as “we’re close to signing a very powerful deal, a very good deal,” according to the report.The BBC also asked Trump if Netanyahu defied him by firing at Iran on Sunday.
The broadcaster quoted Trump as saying that the missiles were “already on their way” when he spoke with the Israeli prime minister.He added, “If I tell him to do something, he does it.”
In the past, Trump reportedly warned Netanyahu against attacking targets in Lebanon, including Beirut, but he went ahead anyway.
Trump says US helicopter pilots who went down in Strait of Hormuz are fine
Two US pilots whose helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz "are fine", Trump said on Tuesday after the New York Times reported the crew of an Apache gunship had been rescued after the aircraft went down near the Iran-controlled waterway.
It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, the report said.
The White House, US Department of State, and the US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Asked if he knew what brought the helicopter down, Trump said they would issue a report later on Tuesday."The pilots are fine," Trump said, speaking on the runway at John F Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, DC "Nobody injured."
The incident happened a day after Iran and Israel said they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from Trump, though Tehran warned it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.Iran’s Baghaei slams US for seizing country’s assets
Esmaeil Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, has shared on X a video of Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, in which he speaks with pride about the seizure of assets belonging to Iran, as per Al Jazeera.
He also quoted an excerpt from the play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare:
Iran's Quds Force chief Qaani warns US, Israel against escalation in Gaza, Lebanon
According to Iranian IRNA state media, Brigadier-General Esmail Qaani warned the United States and Israel against further military escalation in Gaza and Lebanon, saying that new fronts could open and maritime traffic in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could mirror the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, as per the Jerusalem Post.
“The Zionists’ aggression in Lebanon and Gaza, carried out under the shameless backing of the United States, will further strengthen the resolve of the Axis of Resistance to expand its support for both fronts, move toward activating other fronts, and bring the traffic conditions in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in line with those of the Strait of Hormuz,” he stated, according to the report.
According to a separate report by IRNA, the US and Iran are still exchanging views on the final text of the draft agreement.Iran stated earlier on Monday that they would cease attacking Israel as long as Israel stopped attacking Lebanon.Lebanon has since seen at least eight dead due to Israeli strikes.
Trump says US will declare 'total victory' over Iran within 2 weeks
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will declare "total victory" over Iran within the next two weeks, just hours after Iran and Israel agreed to halt the worst escalation in violence since a ceasefire took effect in April.
"We've been a very tough team, and I think we are winning that battle, but you're really going to win it over the next two weeks when we declare total victory," Trump said during a telerally for Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Republican ally. "It'll be a total victory. It'll happen very soon, and oil prices will come tumbling down."
Earlier Monday, Iran announced an end to its attacks on Israel but warned of a “crushing” response if Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue. The Iranian military said Israel and its allies "should have learned" lessons from Tehran's response.
Regional tensions spiked Sunday when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital of Beirut despite an ongoing ceasefire. The move prompted Iran to launch retaliatory missiles into northern Israel, which in turn triggered waves of Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets.
Trump intervened early Monday, posting on his Truth Social platform to call on Israel and Iran to stop fighting "immediately." On Monday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that the fighting with Iran had stopped "for now" but warned Israel would retaliate if it came under attack.
At least four people have been killed during Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, according to Al Jazeera.
Imad Ahmad Yassin (owner of Yassin Poultry Farms) was killed in an airstrike that targeted his farm in the town of Adshit. Osama Hassan Al-Khaled, a 16-year-old, was killed in a drone strike that targeted him in front of his house in the Al-Sharifa neighbourhood of the town of Haboush.
Two people were killed after a drone strike at dawn on the Al-Marj neighbourhood in the town of Kfar Rumman.
At the same time, airstrikes were carried out this morning on the city of Nabatieh, Kfar Sir, and the area between the towns of Kfar Sir and Sir Al-Gharbiya, while the town of Jebchit was subjected to intermittent artillery shelling.Artillery shelling also targeted the outskirts of the towns of Mansouri and Majdal Zoun.
Three people injured, including civil defence, after drone strike in Lebanon’s Sharqiya
Lebanon’s Civil Defence said three people have been injured, including two of their personnel, in an Israeli raid on the town of Sharqiya, southern Lebanon, NNA reported, according to Al Jazeera.
In a statement, the Civil Defence said its teams were working to extract and provide first aid to one person who was injured, but during the rescue operation, the teams were targeted by a second drone strike, resulting in minor injuries to two of their staff.
All those injured were transferred to the hospital, and the Civil Defence said it will continue to “perform its humanitarian and relief duties and respond to emergency calls, despite the difficult field conditions and challenges.”
At least eight people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike on a popular housing area in the city of Tyre, the civil defence in southern Lebanon reported to Al Jazeera Arabic.
The attack comes shortly after the Israeli military issued forced displacement orders for the city of Tyre.
The Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has issued the latest forced displacement orders to citizens in southern Lebanon ahead of an attack, according to Al Jazeera.
In a post on X, Adraee issued the warning to residents in the city of Tyre, including those in the Christian Quarter and to the residents of the Shabariha Hammadieh, Jal al-Bahr, Zaqqouk, al-Mfadi, Al-Bass, Al-Maashouq, Burj al-Shamali, Nabatieh, Al-Hawsh, Al-Rashidieh, and Ain Baal camps.
“As we warned in the past days, following Hezbollah elements’ actions inside the Christian Quarter in the city, the Israel Defence Forces will be compelled to act against their terrorist activities in the quarter in the near term,” he added.
Iran and Israel say they have halted strikes on each other for now
Iran and Israel said on Monday they had halted attacks on each other after an appeal from Trump, though Tehran warned it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The most significant confrontation between the two countries since April threatened to wreck Washington's efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to end their more than three-month-old war.
Oil prices rose as much as 5% after the flurry of attacks, then fell when Iran's military said its first wave of strikes on Israel was over. The dollar retreated from its highest level in nearly two months.
A source briefed on the matter said Israel had also decided to halt its attacks on Iran.
Tehran had fired missiles towards Israeli territory late on Sunday, calling them retaliation for attacks on Hezbollah on the outskirts of Beirut.
Israel then hit Iranian air defence systems and a petrochemical plant that it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it retaliated with a strike aimed at a similar Israeli plant in the city of Haifa.