A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters on Monday as the war in Iran has now crested the 100-day mark.
According to U.S. Central Command, the two pilots were rescued at 7:33 p.m. ET — within approximately two hours of the crash — and are in “stable condition.” CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins said that a U.S. Navy surface drone “found and rescued the crew from the water.”
‘I call all the shots.’
The rescue operation was led by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division and aided by U.S. Air Force and Navy units, including U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59.
After attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York City, President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that “the pilots are fine” and said that nobody was injured in the crash. He would not specify what prompted the crash.
CENTCOM noted that an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.
The Apache is hardly the first American aircraft lost during the conflict with Iran.
RELATED: Trump boxes Netanyahu’s ears over Lebanon offensive, calls him ‘f**king crazy’: Report
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
According to a May 13 report from the Congressional Research Service, 42 fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft, including drones, have reportedly been lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury. The lost or damaged aircraft include:
- three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait early in the conflict and the F-15E shot down during combat operations over Iran;
- one F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft damaged by Iranian ground fire;
- one A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, which crashed after sustaining enemy fire over Iran; and
- seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft, five of which were damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia during an Iranian missile and drone attack, and two of which were involved in an accident over friendly airspace.
The aircrew of all of the lost or damaged aircrew mentioned above survived with the exception of the six service members killed in the March 12 Stratotanker crash.
In his remarks to the press on Monday evening, Trump said that a deal to end the war is imminent.
Late last month, negotiators representing the U.S. and Iran appeared poised to advance the cause of peace between their respective nations, extend the fragile ceasefire that first went into effect in April, and open the Strait of Hormuz again to trade.
The peace talks quickly began to unravel, however, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s June 1 announcement that Israel was going to ramp up attacks in Lebanon and conduct a new round of strikes in Beirut.
Iranian officials subsequently indicated that Tehran was backing out of the talks, citing Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
Trump responded to the apparent sabotage of his deal by boxing Netanyahu’s ears, calling him “f**king crazy” and insisting upon greater restraint. The American president managed to salvage the talks in part by securing a tentative truce between Israel and Lebanon.
This truce would not, however, hold.
Late last week, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem characterized the ceasefire plan agreed by Israel and Lebanon as a “roadmap to annihilate part of the Lebanese people” and said that “as long as the occupation exists, the resistance will continue.”
On Sunday, Israel attacked Beirut — an attack that Netanyahu’s office said was “in response to Hezbollah’s firing at Israeli territory.” Iran responded by firing missiles at Israel. Israel, in turn, attacked “military and economic targets throughout Iran,” Netanyahu said.
As things were cooling off, Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran and Israel are “going to just leave each other alone for another week or something. It’s been going on for a long time — you could say about 3,000 years if you really want, but certainly it’s been going on for 47 years.”
“We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, et cetera, and the strait will open up right away,” said Trump. “It’ll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days.”
Earlier in the day, Trump noted that the negotiations were proceeding, “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”
When asked by the Financial Times (U.K.) over the weekend whether Netanyahu would ultimately have to accept a deal with Iran, Trump said, “He won’t have a choice.”
The president emphasized, “I call the shots. I call all the shots. [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.”
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