Trump says Iran shot down US helicopter and vows to respond

President Donald Trump has accused Iran of shooting down a US helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond to the attack out of "necessity".

Two crew members of the downed Apache helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

"There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."

One US official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that it's not clear if the drone deliberately attacked the helicopter.

Iranian media appeared to acknowledge the incident, with the semi-official Mehr News Agency reporting that Iran had not claimed responsibility.

The prospect of US military action against Iran has emerged as Israeli forces carried out strikes across southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Tehran had warned that Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon would trigger another wave of retaliatory strikes.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that foreign forces near Iran's territory were at "constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents or potentially being caught in crossfire".

"To reduce risk, best solution is for them [foreign forces] to leave," he said in a post on X.

"We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we'll switch to what we speak best."

Israel and Iran halted attacks on each other after exchanging fire over the weekend for the first time since April's truce.

Trump publicly told both countries to "immediately stop 'shooting'" because they were jeopardising negotiations between Washington and Tehran on a deal to end the regional war.

He said on Truth Social that Israel and Iran are looking to do "an immediate ceasefire" but peace is "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".

On Tuesday he also told journalists: "We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal," adding that it could take "two or three days" and the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after.

But now that the US believes the Iranians were responsible for the downing of its helicopter, domestic concerns will demand some kind of reaction.

Earlier, in its statement on Tuesday, US Central Command said the two crew members from the downed Apache had been rescued at 19:33 EDT (23:33 GMT) on Monday.

"Rescue efforts were led by US Naval Forces Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division, with support from US Air Force and Navy units including US 5th Fleet's Task Force 59," the statement