US navy helicopter didn’t crash in Red Sea: CENTCOM fact-checks Iran claim, says all aircraft safe

CENTCOM rejected Iranian media claims of a Navy helicopter going down in the Red Sea. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has rejected reports in Iranian state media claiming that a US Navy MH-60R helicopter crashed into the Red Sea after declaring an emergency.In a post on X on October 6, CENTCOM fact-checked the claim, saying reports of a downed US Navy helicopter in the Red Sea were false. It also said all US military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East were “safe and accounted for”.What did CENTCOM say about the helicopter?CENTCOM said Iranian state media had been pushing “false reports” that a US Navy MH-60R helicopter crashed in the Red Sea after declaring an emergency the previous night.“Reports of a downed US Navy helicopter in the Red Sea are not true,” CENTCOM said in its post, adding that all US military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East were safe and accounted for.The clarification came after Iranian state media outlets, including Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), reported that an American naval aircraft operating over the Red Sea had transmitted squawk code 7700, an international transponder signal indicating a general emergency.IRIB had ...