Was the Red Line crossed? YES

'Shot down': Trump confirms Iran attacked U.S. helicopter, says U.S. 'must, of necessity, respond'

'We can't let them, and I know the president's not gonna let them get away with this'

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the American helicopter that crashed Monday near the Strait of Hormuz was "shot down" by Iran. "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 said on Truth Social.

"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!"

Doocy added, "A couple days ago, 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."

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U.S. Central Command said in a statement its “forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET yesterday at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

A brand new AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter costs between $33 million and $35 million for the bare airframe, but typical acquisition deals range from $52 million to $100 million per unit once weapons systems, spare parts, and training packages are factored in.