'Shot down': Trump confirms Iran attacked U.S. helicopter, says U.S. 'must, of necessity, respond' * WorldNetDaily * by Joe Kovacs

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President Donald J. Trump tours the White House with Fox News host and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)President Donald J. Trump tours the White House with Fox News host and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the American helicopter that crashed Monday near the Strait of Hormuz was “shot down” by Iran.

“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,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Peter Doocy, the White House correspondent for Fox News, said: “It probably means that the president is about to order something big in Iran be blown up.”

WATCH:

Doocy added, “A couple days ago, he was in the Oval Office and was asked if a red line for restarting a hot war against Iran would be U.S. troops being killed. And he said that would be a good reason to resume military operations.”

“There were no U.S. troops killed here, but it seems like Iran was trying really, really hard to kill U.S. troops because they did shoot down an Apache helicopter.”

With Iranian drones responsible for the shootdown, John Roberts of “America Reports” stated: “A U.S. official now tells Fox that the military is now investigating whether or not Iran MEANT to fire at the aircraft.”

With oil and gasoline prices still high, retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro of the U.S. Marine Corps told Fox News: “You would probably not want to go after the old infrastructure and the energy infrastructure. If we did that, you’d see those prices start to spike in a big way.

“Even though I think this is a huge setback because of Iran on the negotiating track, I think the president will do what’s appropriate in terms of the military response, teach ’em a lesson for sure and try to get the negotiations back on track.”

“We can’t let them, and I know the president’s not gonna let them get away with this,” Punaro concluded.

As WorldNetDaily reported earlier Tuesday, two pilots of an Army helicopter were dramatically rescued Monday after their aircraft crashed.

A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter (File)A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter (File)

U.S. Central Command announced: “At 7:33 p.m. ET on June 8, two crew members from a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters.

“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

“Rescue efforts were led by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division, with support from U.S. Air Force and Navy units including U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59.”

Task Force 59 is the Navy’s first-ever drone task force.

Martha Raddatz of ABC News reported: “An unmanned Navy surface vessel, a drone boat was sent to pick up the downed crew.

“The crew was able to climb aboard the boat which then delivered them to shore. All of this happened within two hours of the helicopter going down.”

When asked about the incident Monday night, President Donald Trump told reporters: “The pilots are fine. Nobody injured.”

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Also Monday, Trump indicated negotiations with Iran were continuing, and there was a “good chance” of reaching a peace deal within “two or three days.”

“I think we’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said.

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WATCH: Dramatic drone-boat rescue after U.S. helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz