U.S. Army AH-64 Apache Helicopter Crashes Near Strait of Hormuz
Two crew members were rescued uninjured after the June 8 incident. President Trump said Iranian forces shot down the aircraft.
U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman on Monday, June 8, 2026. Central Command said the helicopter went down while patrolling regional waters near the coast of Oman.
The two pilots were rescued by a Task Force 59 unmanned surface vessel roughly two hours after the aircraft went down. The two crew members were uninjured and are in stable condition, Pentagon officials said. President Trump stated that Iranian forces shot down the helicopter.
In a social media post, he wrote: “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. ” Iranian military statements said IRGC Navy forces fired on the helicopter after it ignored warnings from a speedboat.
The Pentagon has not confirmed whether Iranian fire caused the crash and says the cause remains under investigation.
U.S. forces struck several Iranian air-defense and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Iranian media said a series of explosions occurred along Iran’s southern coast near the strait and that the situation was now reported to be calm.
The helicopter incident occurred hours after President Trump said Washington and Tehran were in the final stages of a nuclear agreement expected within two or three days. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran began in late February 2026. President Trump also warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against further strikes on Lebanon.
Israeli forces conducted airstrikes on Tyre on June 9, 2026, and renewed their assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
