Iran's foreign minister warns US troops near Iranian territory to withdraw

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Tuesday that US forces deployed near Iranian territory risk being drawn into accidents or armed conflict and should withdraw, as a US military helicopter crashed over the Strait of Hormuz.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Araghchi said foreign troops near Iran's territory "are constantly exposed to the risk of human error, accidental incidents, or potentially being drawn into armed conflict."

He argued that the risk of such military confrontation had to be eliminated at the source. "The best solution to reduce the danger is for them to leave," he said.

Araghchi closed his post with a pointed warning: "We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we also speak other languages." The remark was widely interpreted as a threat of military or other forceful action should diplomatic channels fail.

His comments came shortly after Donald Trump said the Apache helicopter that crashed over the Strait of Hormuz the previous day had been shot down by Iran.

Trump said on Truth Social that he had received reports that "a state-of-the-art Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz was shot down by Iran." He added that the pilot was safe and uninjured, and signaled the possibility of retaliation, saying the United States "will inevitably have to respond to this attack."

Iran has neither confirmed nor denied Trump's claim that it shot down the Apache helicopter.