President Donald Trump revealed new details about the crash of a U.S. Army helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the courageous actions of two surviving American pilots and calling the harrowing incident a “miracle.”
The drone caught fire but didn’t explode, according to Trump.
Not knowing whether the drone would eventually explode, the pilots quickly maneuvered their helicopter down into the sea, where they were ultimately rescued by an unmanned sea drone for the first time in U.S. military history, the president said.
Trump said both pilots were “safe and uninjured.”
The military said the two aviators were spotted and picked up by the drone rescue vessel that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had earlier described the rescue carried out by the unmanned vessel as an historic mission.
“Extraordinary heroism by our servicemen & extraordinary technology employed to rescue them,” Cruz added.
The U.S. military launched airstrikes and Iran retaliated Wednesday following the Apache crash.
Iran “had a chance to sign a deal and survive,” the president said.
Meanwhile, ongoing peace talks between both sides have been led by Pakistan, but Trump said that any final agreement must be a “great deal,” and if not, the United States will not sign it.
Trump said last week that Iran had agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons. But he also maintained that U.S. military options remain on the table if talks fail.
The war erupted Feb. 28 after a major escalation between Iran and Israel, with both sides exchanging missile and drone attacks and ultimately disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and drawing in U.S. military involvement.