Trump says US 'must respond' after Iran downs helicopter
· RTE.ieUS President Donald Trump has said that Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz overnight and vowed to respond, but gave no other details.
"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," Mr Trump wrote in a social media post.
He said the two US pilots involved in the incident were both safe and uninjured.
"Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he added.
His remarks threw into deeper uncertainty the prospects for a truce announced on 8 April in the war in the Gulf.
Earlier, Mr Trump had said that negotiators were in the "final throes" of talks for a peace deal in the Middle East, after Iran and Israel halted fresh hostilities that threatened to reignite the months-long war.
The US president has repeatedly said that a peace agreement with Tehran is imminent, but diplomacy has stalled and the two sides have traded fire despite a ceasefire in place since 8 April.
Iran and Israel "were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal," he told reporters on his return from an NBA Finals game.
Asked whether it would be matter of days or weeks, he said it would take "two or three days".
Tehran has repeatedly stated any deal should include Lebanon - where Israel has been pressing its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah - and fired missiles at Israel on Sunday.
That prompted Israeli retaliation, despite US pressure for restraint.
Iran fired another salvo before announcing it was ceasing military action, and hours later Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the "fire on that front is contained".
Tehran said yesterday that it would attack again if Israel persisted with its strikes in Lebanon, while Mr Netanyahu warned in turn that should Iran "make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force".
Mr Trump, who has reportedly grown increasingly exasperated with Mr Netanyahu, had earlier urged both sides to stop "shooting" and said that "final negotiations" towards peace would proceed "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".
The Israeli premier, though, said in a televised statement he had told Mr Trump that "Israel has a full right to self-defence, and we are exercising it as required".
According to Axios news outlet, Israel was preparing for a major wave of strikes on Iran before Mr Trump personally called Mr Netanyahu and urged him to stop.
"I said, 'Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,'" Mr Trump told Axios.
US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News yesterday that while the United States and Israel shared interests, their positions did not always align.
"The Israelis and the United States, we have a lot of shared interests," Mr Vance said. "But we also have some situations where our interests diverge."
Israel strikes Tyre killing eight, warns city to evacuate
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz insisted that the campaign in Lebanon would carry on regardless and said Israel would strike the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut in retaliation for each attack on northern Israel by the militant group.
Lebanon's health ministry subsequently said that an Israeli airstrike on Tyre had killed at least eight people today, with the Israeli military warning the entire city to evacuate shortly after the strike.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported raids on more than a dozen other locations across the country's south.
Israel has repeatedly struck the city of Tyre since the latest war erupted with Hezbollah, following the militants' rocket fire at Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
But until Tuesday, Tyre's Christian quarter in the Old City - a small, picturesque area where displaced people had also sought refuge - had been spared Israeli evacuation warnings targeting the rest of the city in the ongoing war.
"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, and the camps and surrounding neighbourhoods," the Israeli army warning on X read, referring to several Palestinian refugee camps in the area.
"For your safety, we ask you to immediately evacuate your homes... and move north of the Zahrani River."
The Zahrani river is around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Tyre. The Israeli army last month declared all areas south of the river "combat zones".
The Israeli army said its forces killed a gunman today who had managed to infiltrate Israeli territory from Lebanon and opened fire on its troops.
"A short while ago, an initial report was received regarding a shooting toward IDF soldiers operating in the Ramim Ridge area," the army said, referring to a mountainous area stretching between Israel and Lebanon.
"The soldiers returned fire and eliminated a terrorist in the area. No IDF injuries were reported," the army said, confirming to AFP that the gunman had managed to enter Israel.
Deadly strikes in Lebanon
Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, and Israel targeted military sites in the Islamic republic.
No casualties were reported in either Israel or Iran after the exchange of fire.
The Israeli military said it had identified projectiles launched towards its soldiers operating in southern Lebanon, some of which were intercepted while one landed near troops without causing casualties.
It later said that a "suspicious aerial target" from Yemen had been intercepted without any reported injuries.
There was little sign of any return to war in Tehran, with café terraces packed.
Traffic seemed lighter than usual for a weekday, suggesting that some people had stayed home and there were also many more people queueing at petrol stations.
Residents of Tel Aviv meanwhile went to shelters as sirens went off.
Iranian news agencies reported early this morning that the capital's international airport - shut down over the renewed missile launches - had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.