Trump prepares new military strike after Iran downs chopper: 'Must respond to this attack'

President Donald Trump threatened a military response to the downing of a U.S. Army helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

The two crew members were rescued in the first-ever sea drone operation conducted by the U.S. military, and the president blamed the crash on an attack 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 posted Tuesday afternoon 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!"

CENTCOM has previously stated the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters and that the cause of the incident remained under investigation.

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to hold Tuesday despite the two countries trading military strikes Sunday and Monday, and Israel has continued its parallel strikes against Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.