Interesting. Just a day ago, Donald Trump argued for restraint after Iran aimed thirty ballistic missiles at civilians in Israel. Today, an attack on a helicopter patrolling the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz requires a military response.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you:
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. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
The Wall Street Journal reported on the incident earlier today. Initially, all that was known was that an Apache had crashed and the US Navy had rescued the pilots. Now, however, the cause has been confirmed as an attack from the Iranian regime:
Iran shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a move that would require a U.S. response, President Trump said Tuesday.
The downing of the helicopter set off a race to find two crew American [sic] members before Iranian forces could close in on them. They were eventually rescued by a drone boat in a first-of-its-kind operation at sea, the military said. ...
The development threatens to shatter a fragile ceasefire that has been marked by repeated skirmishes in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The president has previously told aides he would consider restarting the war with Iran if American servicemembers are killed by Iran, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
No one got killed, but it wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of the Iranian regime. Trump's comments about his red line for restarting full kinetic operations got picked up widely by American and international media. It seems highly unlikely that the Iranians were unaware of this. Either they want to test him to see if he was serious, attempt to humiliate Trump by forcing him to absorb the attack, or they just really want the war to fully restart. It may be all three at the same time.
According to Peter Doocy at Fox News, Trump is inclined to give Ahmad Vahidi what he apparently desires:
🚨 NOW: "President Trump is probably about to order something big in Iran BE BLOWN UP" after Iranians tried killing our troops in an Apache
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 9, 2026
Thankfully, BOTH US PILOTS ARE SAFE 🙏🏻
Iran WANTS FAFO.
DOOCY: "He was in the Oval Office and was asked if a red line for restarting a… pic.twitter.com/bVgP42Ptme
DOOCY: "He was in the Oval Office and was asked if a red line for restarting a hot war against Iran would be U.S. troops being killed. And he said that would be a good reason to resume military operations."
"There were no U.S. troops killed here, but it seems like Iran was trying really, really hard to kill U.S. troops because they did shoot down an Apache helicopter."
"He says, I've 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."
"There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured, nevertheless the United States must of necessity respond to this attack."
Has it already started? This probably isn't a coincidence, if it can be confirmed:
IRANIAN REPORT: Powerful explosions heard in the Amir Abad area near Fatemi Square (Jihad Square) in central Tehran’s District 6.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 9, 2026
Waiting on additional confirmation.
The question here will be what Trump envisions in a response. If it's a limited strike, then Trump can wait to see how the Iranians respond. The problem with a limited strike is that it's no longer a deterrent, if it ever was at all. The stakes have been raised well above that level, and now only a severe and lasting campaign will likely get the point across. The Iranians have been violating the current ceasefire almost since the moment it went into effect, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, because Trump's "restraint" emboldened Vahidi to push the conflict to its maximum limits. Trump's chewing out of Benjamin Netanyahu likely amplified Vahidi's determination to push Trump into conflict with Israel.
Trump still seems to think he can get a deal. White House sources told the NY Times today that Iran is ready to make concessions in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, but the framework looks a lot like the JCPOA:
- A 15-year suspension of uranium enrichment
- Dilution of the current stockpile of highly enriched uranium
- Dismantling all but one of Iran's nuclear sites
- Allow "snap" inspections
This is basically the JCPOA, without the up-front release of assets. Trump demanded the handover of the "nuclear dust" as a minimum for a deal, which he has apparently foregone now. The NYT points out the folly of the third 'concession':
Critics of the Obama-era agreement focused on his failure to close down Fordo, a deep underground site, which the Iranians later revived to produce near-bomb-grade fuel. Leaving one facility open would pose a similar problem unless operations are above ground, so it could be easily struck if Iran began working on weapons. Iran’s response is unclear.
What about the facility Iran is building at Pickaxe Mountain? Will they verifiably dismantle it?
If this is the deal Trump claims will bring peace to the region, he's very much mistaken. This is the same rug that the mullahs sold Obama and John Kerry in 2015 and never delivered. It says nothing about ballistic missiles or support for terror proxies either, two criticisms Trump himself leveled at the JCPOA ten years ago when running for president the first time.
Perhaps the attack on the Apache has awoken Trump to the folly of negotiating with terrorists and terrorist states. We'll see soon enough.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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