Trump says Iran shot down US helicopter over Hormuz, vows to respond

US president says although the pilots were rescued, Washington ‘must, of necessity, respond to this attack’.President Donald Trump has accused Iran of shooting down a United States military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, saying that he will respond to the attack.“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 wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hundred days of Israel’s latest war on Lebanonlist 2 of 3Trump says in ‘final throes’ of peace deal but at least 8 killed in Lebanonlist 3 of 3Does Trump have real leverage over Netanyahu — and could he use it?end of list“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”Trump’s latest threat risks rupturing an April 8 truce that paused the US-Israeli war against Iran, though that agreement has already been pushed to the brink by repeated skirmishes across the region.The Middle East-based Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the region, had said earlier that the cause of the incident was under investigation.“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,” CENTCOM said.The latest escalation comes after the US military said that it disabled an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf on Monday.Fighting has also erupted between Iran and Israel over the past days. Iran fired missiles at Israel in response to its bombing of Beirut. Israel retaliated by carrying out strikes inside Iran, despite Trump’s calls for restraint.Since the April truce came into effect, it has come under strain by repeated attacks and counter-attacks in the region.Earlier this month, the US military carried out strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island, to which Tehran responded with missile launches against a US base in Kuwait. A drone also hit Kuwait’s international airport, killing one person, but Iran has denied responsibility for that attack.Trump has played down those previous instances of violence, stressing that a deal between Washington and Tehran remains close despite the tension.