An Apache helicopter gunship from the United States Army went down near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Monday, causing immediate concern and speculation about the incident’s cause.
Thankfully, the two crew members aboard the helicopter were rescued without injury. According to a report from The New York Times, the details of the rescue were shared by two individuals who had been briefed on the situation.
As of Monday night, the cause of the helicopter’s crash remained uncertain. Speculation included the possibility of Iranian fire, mechanical failure, or another unforeseen issue. Further details are expected to be clarified soon.
Donald Trump commented on the situation, reassuring that the crew members were unharmed and promising a comprehensive report on the incident to be released on Tuesday.
This helicopter incident unfolded against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Over the weekend, the two nations renewed their hostilities, engaging in strikes against each other.
However, by Monday, both countries seemed to step back from further escalation, marking a brief pause in their conflict. This development came just weeks after the United States brokered a ceasefire agreement with Tehran.
Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked.
The Apache incident and rescue mission came after a weekend of a renewed strikes between Israel and Iran
It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem
The renewed hostilities raised concerns that the Middle East could plunge back into a full-scale war.
Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, 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 deal to permanently end the conflict.
The new attacks prompted Trump to call for an immediate stop to fighting between Israel and Iran.
Soon after, the Iranian military’s joint command issued a statement that said it was halting offensive strikes.
The statement said further ‘aggression and hostile acts’ by Israel and its supporters, including in southern Lebanon, would be met with ‘much more severe and crushing measures than before.’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in a videotaped statement, implied that the current round of fighting was over.
But he also warned that if Iran ‘makes the mistake and returns to attacking us, we will respond with force.’
Donald Trump said that the crew members are ‘fine’ and a full report on the incident will be released later Tuesday
The helicopter going down and rescue mission came after a weekend of a renewed strikes between Israel and Iran
Netanyahu said Israel is continuing to operate in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, and that Israel ‘has full right to self-defense, and we will exercise it to the full extent necessary.’
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the village of Zefta killed seven people Monday, including a Syrian child.
Eight people were wounded. Another strike on the coastal city of Tyre killed five and wounded eight, some of them members of the Lebanese Red Cross, the ministry said.
Both countries lifted restrictions they had imposed as safety precautions.
The Israeli military said most schools in Israel that closed Monday would reopen.
Iran’s official Mizan news agency reported that the Islamic Republic had lifted airspace restrictions affecting civilian flights.
Trump boasted on a call with South Carolina voters Monday night that the US will declare ‘total victory’ over Iran in the next two weeks.
The President gave an updated timeline on the Iran war during a tele-rally in support of hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is trying to avoid a runoff in Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in the Palmetto State.
Israeli security forces examine a fragment of an intercepted Iranian missile in northern Israel
Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured center) appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran
‘We’ve been a very tough team,’ Trump said. ‘And I think we are winning that battle. But you’re really going to win it over the next two weeks when we declare total victory.’
‘It will happen very soon and oil prices will come tumbling down,’ the President added.
Trump originally told the Daily Mail in late February that the Iran war would last about four weeks, but it’s now lasted more than three months – with gas prices around the country soaring.
The President said Iran was ‘negotiating now, and they want to make a very good deal.’
‘They’re willing to give us everything. They’re willing to give us no nuclear weapon. Iran and the people of South Carolina agree. I saw a poll, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and it’s as simple as that,’ he continued.
For weeks, Trump has said the war was winding down, but new fighting broke out in recent days between Iran and Israel, though the two countries halted attacking one another earlier Monday.
Trump spent the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort and told Axios by phone that he had warned Netanyahu against continuing to strike Iran.
‘I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,” the President said, recounting the conversation to Axios.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles that were launched from Iran
Netanyahu said Israel is continuing to operate in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, and that Israel ‘has full right to self-defense, and we will exercise it to the full extent necessary’
Trump also told Netanyahu that the leaders of five countries in the region asked him to tell the Israeli PM to back off the attacks.
He didn’t specify which countries they were.
‘These countries were very concerned. They love the deal that we have been negotiating,’ Trump said.
Iranian officials also reached out to the US and said they would stop attacking Israel if Israel hit pause.
‘They called us and said that they are not doing any more attacks and asked us to tell Israel not to do any more attacks,’ the President explained.
Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran.
Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, including belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times that ‘I call all the shots.’
Their differences appear to be rooted in each leader’s domestic considerations. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
He also is wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.
The US president also faces elections — for Congress in November — and is eager to end a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.
