What ABP Live claimed

ABP Live's live-blog headline said US President Donald Trump had threatened retaliation after Iran 'shot down' a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. The single-quote scare quotes around 'shoots down' hedge the attribution — appropriately, as it turns out.

What the evidence shows

Multiple wire and broadcast outlets confirm the core claim. On Truth Social, Trump wrote that the US military had informed him "the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz", and added that the United States "must, of necessity, respond to this attack". Both pilots were recovered safely — notably by an unmanned drone boat, the first publicly known use of such a vessel for a US military recovery.

The threat of retaliation was carried out within hours. US Central Command said it began 'self-defense strikes' at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, describing them as a 'proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression' that targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera and CNN reported explosions in Qeshm Island, Sirik, Jask and Bandar Abbas. Iran's Revolutionary Guards then launched missiles and drones at US bases in Bahrain and Jordan.

Where caution is warranted

The headline's scare quotes are doing real work. CENTCOM's initial morning statement did not blame Iran and called the cause 'under investigation'. US officials briefing CBS and NBC said initial indications point to an Iranian Shahed-type drone, but it was 'not clear if the drone deliberately attacked the helicopter'. Iran has not directly claimed responsibility; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted only an oblique warning that foreign forces face risk from 'human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire.' Trump himself later told the Wall Street Journal the incident "wasn't a big deal" — a notably softer tone than the public retaliation threat.

Bottom line

The headline's two factual hooks — Trump's threat of retaliation, and his attribution of the downing to Iran — are accurate and well-sourced. The reason this is rated *mostly-true* rather than *true* is that the underlying premise (that Iran deliberately shot down the Apache) remains officially uncertain: CENTCOM has not formally confirmed Iranian intent, Tehran has not claimed the strike, and US officials concede the drone may not have targeted the helicopter on purpose. Indian readers should treat the 'shoot-down' as Trump's characterisation, not a settled fact — which, to ABP Live's credit, the quote marks in the headline acknowledge.