President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond after he accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter the previous night, hours after he said negotiations to end the Middle East war were in their final stages.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with Washington, meanwhile warned the United States on Tuesday against breaking its “commitments”.
The comments came a day after Iran and Israel halted attacks that threatened to reignite the regional war, which was sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
In a statement, Trump said he had been informed “that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz”.
While the crew members were uninjured, “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he said.
Iran’s Ghalibaf also issued a warning on Tuesday.
“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. You ride the horse you saddled!” he said on X.
The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.
The downing and the prospect of a US response pose the latest threat to a shaky ceasefire in place since April 8, as the US and Iran struggle to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Tehran has insisted a halt to the war must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2.
Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed more than 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah have not stopped despite an ongoing truce.
– Oil prices fall –
Iran fired missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to strikes against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, before Israel struck back despite Trump’s efforts to dissuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from doing so.
The Israeli leader said of Iran that the “fire on that front is contained” hours after Tehran said it had stopped its military action.
But both sides warned they could resume hostilities, even as Trump indicated diplomatic efforts were progressing.
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,” Trump told reporters earlier Tuesday.
When asked whether a deal would be a matter of days or weeks, he said it would take “two or three days”.
Following Trump’s comments, oil prices fell around five percent to below $90 a barrel.
The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil usually passes, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump had earlier urged both sides to stop “shooting” and said that “final negotiations” towards peace would proceed.
In the recent escalation of attacks, Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, while Israel struck military sites in the Islamic republic.
Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that three people including two members of the “Army Air Defence Force” were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier. No casualties were reported in Israel following the exchange.
Iranian media reported early Tuesday that Tehran’s international airport — closed during the missile exchanges — had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.
– Lebanon city evacuates –
Despite Iranian demands, Israel has kept up its attacks on Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike on Tyre killed at least eight people, with the Israeli military warning the entire city to evacuate shortly after the strike.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a “heavy strike” on Tyre, and raids on more than a dozen other locations across the country’s south.
An AFP correspondent saw residents of Tyre, including from the Christian quarter, fleeing and heavy traffic heading north after the Israeli warning.
Last week, Israel’s military alleged that Hezbollah members were operating in the Christian quarter and said it would warn people to leave if the group remained there.
The heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces meanwhile agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan.
On another front of the war, Israel’s military said early Tuesday it had intercepted an aerial target from Yemen, but reported no casualties.
