Tehran urges foreign forces to withdraw from Iran’s borders

Foreign military forces operating near Iran’s territory should leave the area, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X, commenting on remarks by US President Donald Trump regarding a response to a downed American helicopter.

According to Araghchi, the Strait of Hormuz is not international waters and is located thousands of miles from the US coastline.

“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire. To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave,” the minister wrote.

Araghchi also stressed that Tehran prefers “the language of diplomacy” but is capable of speaking “other languages as well.”

Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire.

To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.

We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too. pic.twitter.com/5DDgHAscBj

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 9, 2026

On June 9, 2026, a US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz while on patrol, with US officials attributing the downing to an Iranian one-way attack drone that collided with it (or direct Iranian action). 

The two pilots ejected safely with no serious injuries and were rescued by a US Navy unmanned surface drone boat—the first such operation of its kind.

By Jeyhun Aghazada