Iran Denies Involvement in Apache Downing, Vows Response to US Aggression

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Insam Saif, in a statement to Aljazeera on Tuesday (10/6/2026), denied that Iran was behind the incident involving the downing of an American Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz the night before. The Iranian official stated that in such a tense situation, the possibility of such an incident occurring unintentionally remains. “The atmosphere in the Strait of Hormuz is currently very tense, so incidents like this could happen unintentionally,” he said. He stressed that there was no deliberate targeting effort from the Iranian side against the American helicopter. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the United States’ military presence in the region as the main cause of the escalating tension between Tehran and Washington. He even demanded that US forces immediately leave the region. In a post on platform X, Araghchi wrote: “The Strait of Hormuz is not international waters, but a shared waterway between Iran and Oman, thousands of miles from the coast of the United States. The maritime boundaries in this region are very clear.” He added that the Iranian armed forces are always on full alert to confront any violations of Iran’s airspace, land, or waters.