-Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Tuesday that foreign military forces operating near Iran “face risks,” calling for them to leave the region, hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to respond to an alleged Iranian attack on a US military helicopter.
In a statement posted on the US social media company X, Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz is shared by Iran and Oman and is located far from US territory.
“Our powerful armed forces are on constant alert for any violation of Iran’s airspace, land or waters,” he said.
Araghchi warned that foreign forces operating near Iran are exposed to risks stemming from “human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire.”
“To reduce risk, the best solution is for foreign forces to exit, as soon as possible, an environment which will never be hospitable to a hostile presence,” he added.
The top diplomat said Tehran prefers diplomacy, but warned that Iran is capable of responding through other means if necessary.
“Iran prefers the language of diplomacy. However, as our brave warriors have shown to the world, we know how to speak other languages too,” he said.
The remarks came after Trump said the United States “must” respond to an alleged Iranian attack that brought down a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He said both pilots were rescued unharmed, while US Central Command later confirmed that two crew members had been recovered after the crash, adding that the cause remains under investigation.
The latest exchange comes amid renewed tensions in the region following days of military confrontations involving Iran and Israel, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to preserve a fragile ceasefire
