Iran live updates: Trump says Iran shot down chopper, US ‘must’ respond

By David Brennan and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: June 9, 2026, 11:04 AM MDT

Trump says Iran shot down the US helicopter and US 'must' respond

President Donald Trump said the U.S. Apache helicopter that crashed in the Middle East was shot down by Iran, saying the U.S. "must, out of necessity, respond to this attack."

“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 in a post on social media.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

Apache crewmembers transported by drone to another location

The autonomous surface sea drone used to rescue the two Apache crewmembers picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport, according to a U.S. official.