CENTCOM said the Apache helicopter went down near the coast of Oman on Monday.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."
The autonomous surface sea drone used to rescue the two Apache crewmembers picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport, according to a U.S. official.
As President Donald Trump says the U.S. military believes Iran is to blame for the downing of a Apache helicopter that crashed in the Middle East, an Iranian official suggested Iran is ready to retaliate if commitments are broken.
"We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we'll switch to what we speak best. You ride the horse you saddled!" the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. Apache helicopter that crashed in the Middle East was shot down by Iran, saying the U.S. "must, of necessity, respond to this attack."
“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 in a post on social media.
U.S. Central Command confirmed on Tuesday that two U.S. Army AH-64 Apache pilots were rescued near the Strait of Hormuz after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman on Monday evening.
A U.S. official told ABC News that the pilots were rescued by an unmanned surface vessel -- a maritime drone that picked them up and took them to land.
The pilots were rescued within approximately two hours, CENTCOM said in a post to X. The Apache was "patrolling regional waters" when the incident occurred, CENTCOM said. "The cause of the incident is under investigation," it added.
"Rescue efforts were led by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division, with support from U.S. Air Force and Navy units including U.S. 5th Fleet's Task Force 59," CENTCOM said. Task Force 59 is the Navy's first-ever drone task force.
Task Force 59 uses a variety of unmanned craft. According to a U.S. official, the drone used for the rescue of the Apache pilots had a speed boat-like design.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
