Trump: Iran Shot Down Chopper, US 'Must' Respond

The US-Iran ceasefire just took a turn for the worse. President Trump on Tuesday blamed Tehran for shooting down a US military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and declared that the US "must" respond to the attack. (Both pilots were safely rescued by a drone boat in what was thought to be the first such rescue of its kind.) In his Truth Social post, Trump did not indicate how severe the US response would be, but the developments threaten to "shatter" the already fragile ceasefire, reports the Wall Street Journal.

"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," wrote Trump, providing the first explanation of why the chopper went down. The incident comes a day after Iran and Israel agreed to stand down from a series of strikes and counterstrikes that also threatened to upend the broader ceasefire. But that agreement also appeared to be at risk because Israeli strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon were continuing, reports the BBC.