An F-35C Lightning II, connected to Marine Fighter Assault Squadron (VMFA) 314, prepares to make an arrested touchdown on the flight deck of Nimitz-class plane service USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Could 25, 2026.
US CENTCOM
President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated the U.S. will “reply” as he accused Iran of capturing down an Apache helicopter that was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.
The 2 pilots concerned in the assault “are protected and unhurt,” Trump wrote in a Fact Social put up. “Nonetheless, the US should, of necessity, reply to this assault.”
Trump didn’t say what kind the U.S. response would take. He has reportedly stated privately that he won’t throw out the ceasefire with Iran — which stays nominally energetic regardless of quite a few outbreaks of preventing — until U.S. troops are killed.
However Tuesday’s put up signaled that battle with Iran was about to ramp up as soon as once more, regardless of him claiming hours earlier {that a} cope with Tehran could possibly be reached as quickly as this week.
The 2 sides are in the ultimate levels of a “very, excellent deal” that can cease Iran from getting nuclear weapons and totally reopen the Hormuz Strait “instantly upon signing,” Trump stated late Monday evening after leaving an NBA Finals recreation in New York Metropolis.
Such a deal could possibly be signed “in two or three days,” Trump added. However he has repeatedly claimed all through the battle, which crossed the 100-day mark on Sunday, that the U.S. and Iran had been on the cusp of signing a deal. No deal has emerged.
Trump’s late-night feedback got here hours after the helicopter incident, in line with U.S. Central Command, which stated that the American AH-64 Apache had gone down “close to the coast of Oman” on Monday night at 7:33 p.m. ET.
In a press release Tuesday morning, Centcom didn’t initially blame Iran for the downing, saying the incident is underneath investigation.
The 2 troopers concerned in the crash had been rescued inside about two hours by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division, Centcom stated.
Iran didn’t straight declare duty for capturing down the helicopter, however some Iranian sources appeared to touch upon the incident.
“International forces in proximity to our territory are at fixed threat on account of their very own human errors, plain accidents, or doubtlessly being caught in crossfire,” Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi stated in a press release on X on Tuesday afternoon.
“To cut back threat, greatest resolution is for them to depart,” Araghchi stated, including, “We want language of diplomacy however converse different languages too.”
Iran’s official broadcaster Press TV responded to Trump’s Fact put up by mocking his frequent declare that the Iranian military has been destroyed by the U.S.
“A lot for the Iranian military having been ‘obliterated’!” Press TV posted on Telegram.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, in an X put up issued a cryptic menace much like Araghchi’s assertion.
“We want the language of diplomacy, however we converse different languages much more fluently,” Ghalibaf wrote. “Break your commitments, and we’ll change to what we converse greatest. You experience the horse you saddled!”
Iran’s Ministry of International Affairs didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for touch upon Trump’s put up.
— CNBC’s Emma Graham and Megan Cassella contributed to this report.
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