Trump confirms US helicopter crew safe after crash near Strait of Hormuz
By Jarrett Renshaw, Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam
WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) — President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that two U.S. pilots were unharmed after their Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments and a frequent flashpoint in U.S.-Iran tensions.
“The pilots are fine,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport before departing for Washington. “Nobody injured.” He said a formal report on the incident would be released later in the day.
The crash occurred close to the Iranian-controlled waterway, according to earlier reports from The New York Times, which noted it was unclear whether the helicopter was struck by Iranian fire, suffered mechanical failure or encountered another issue. U.S. Central Command, the White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The incident comes at a particularly volatile moment in the Middle East, where a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel has repeatedly strained under continued exchanges of fire. Trump’s remarks on the helicopter crash were overshadowed by broader developments in the region, including renewed missile strikes and diplomatic maneuvering.
Iran and Israel step back from direct confrontation — for now
Iran and Israel announced Monday they had suspended attacks on each other following an appeal from Trump, reverting to a tenuous ceasefire that was first declared on April 8. But Tehran warned it would resume hostilities if Israel continued targeting Iran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. On Tuesday, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for the Lebanese city of Tyre, including its Christian quarter — an area previously spared — claiming Hezbollah militants were operating there, without providing evidence.
Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, which began in March with an invasion of southern Lebanon, helped trigger the latest and most direct missile exchanges between Iran and Israel since the April ceasefire. The escalation has complicated Trump’s push to end a war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, a conflict that has reshaped the region and tested American foreign policy.
Trump told reporters he might have “an idea” for an Iran deal within days, though he offered no specifics. The Republican president, whose approval ratings have hit record lows ahead of November’s midterm elections, has frequently hinted at an imminent agreement with Tehran, but none has materialized.
Iran fired missiles toward Israeli territory late Sunday, calling the strikes retaliation for attacks on Iranian-backed Hezbollah positions near Beirut. Israel responded by hitting Iranian air defense systems and a petrochemical plant it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it retaliated with a strike on a similar Israeli plant in Haifa. No casualties were reported on either side.
Trump warns Netanyahu: ‘Be careful’
U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed that Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. In an interview with Axios, Trump said he cautioned the Israeli leader against resuming full-scale war with Iran. “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” Trump told Axios.
Tehran has long maintained that any peace deal with Washington depends in part on an end to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel invaded in March to pursue Hezbollah fighters who had launched cross-border attacks. Israel has refused to halt its Lebanon campaign, arguing it should be treated separately from any U.S.-Iranian ceasefire. Hezbollah has continued its attacks as well.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Washington has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has said any peace deal must guarantee that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran’s demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its control over the strait.
The helicopter crash near the strait underscores the risk of miscalculation in a region already on edge, where military incidents can quickly spiral into broader confrontations. With no clear answer yet on what caused the Apache to go down, the episode adds another layer of uncertainty to the already fragile geopolitical landscape.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Lincoln Feast and Ros Russell; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Kevin Liffey)