The crew of a US Army Apache helicopter was rescued after it crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, with President assuring that the pilots were “fine”.
The crash was first reported by the , which said that the helicopter went down under circumstances that were “unclear”. It is still not confirmed whether the chopper was shot down by Iran, which has kept the Strait of Hormuz under a chokehold since the US and Israel started the West Asia war on February 28, or if it faced a mechanical failure.
Trump, speaking to journalists at John F Kennedy International Airport in after watching the NBA Finals Game 3 between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, acknowledged the crash.
“The pilots are fine. Yeah. Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine,” Trump said.
Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the to shoot down Iranian drones during the.
West Asia was still reeling on Monday after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war.
Iranian state media, relying on foreign reporting, acknowledged the crash without elaborating.
Since the US and began striking Iran more than three months ago, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a permanent end to the conflict.
Trump keeps insisting the Iran deal is coming
Donald Trump also expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.
“We have a good chance of signing a deal in two or three days. We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal. If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the Strait open for months,” Trump told reporters at JFK airport.
But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism.
He added, “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”
The peace deal status
Mediators, led predominantly by , have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the US have taken hard-line positions.
Washington wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed still to be entombed in the country after American airstrikes in the 12-day war in 2025.
But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump has rejected.
