On the morning of June 9, US President Donald Trump said that the pilots of the Apache helicopter of the US military that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz "are still safe".
Speaking on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington DC, Mr. Trump said that "the pilots were fine, no one was injured".
The US President did not provide further information about what happened but said that a report would be released "tomorrow".
The New York Times reported that a US military Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on June 8 and 2 crew members had to be rescued. The news report does not specify the cause of the helicopter crash.
The US helicopter crash occurred after conflicts in the region escalated last weekend, with Iran and Israel fighting directly for the first time in months.
Although it is not clear what the Apache was doing at the time of the crash, these helicopters were previously used to attack Iranian small ships within the framework of the US-led blockade of Iranian ports.
According to the website of the US Central Command, Apache helicopters are mainly used for precision strikes, close-range air support and air reconnaissance.
If confirmed, this will be the first Apache crash since the conflict with Iran began.
The US military has lost dozens of aircraft, including at least 5 fighter jets, 7 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, 1 search and rescue helicopter and more than 20 drones, since the Iranian conflict broke out at the end of February, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service released in May.
In early April, the US military launched an operation to rescue a pilot of an F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft shot down inside Iranian territory. In a secret mission with the participation of hundreds of US military personnel and intelligence officers, including this special forces force, the US military had to blow up 2 special forces aircraft on Iranian territory.
In March, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, killing all 6 crew members. A few days earlier, 3 US F-15 fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwait's air defense system, but all crew members parachuted safely.
Several aircraft were damaged in Iranian attacks on a US airbase in Saudi Arabia, while other aircraft were damaged by Iranian fire while flying.
