The US military said it launched new strikes against Iran on Tuesday (Jun 9) after President Donald Trump vowed to respond to the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter overnight, in the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran that threatens a fragile ceasefire.
“They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak,” Trump told ABC News. “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is.”
The US military’s Central Command said in a statement that “self-defense strikes” began at 5 p.m. Washington time at Trump’s direction.
“The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” Central Command said in a statement.
Several Iranian air defence and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz were targeted, Axios reported, citing a US official.
Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked and that a projectile hit was confirmed in Sirik. Explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, the Mehr news agency said.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a one-way Iranian attack drone brought down the Apache.
Central Command said the two crew members were rescued by a sea drone — the first such rescue — and are in stable condition, a more cautious assessment than Trump’s description. It gave no reason for the crash.
Trump earlier said the two US pilots involved in the incident were uninjured.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not directly address the helicopter incident but warned that foreign forces in the region risk being involved in accidents or crossfire. “To reduce risk, the best solution is for them to leave,” he said on social media.
Iran’s state media later cited a military source saying no offensive air military operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. The source also said there would be a decisive response if the “enemy” renewed hostilities over the helicopter incident.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the incident “wasn’t a big deal” and stressed that “the pilot is fine.”
The episode could add further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz, a vital conduit for petroleum and other commodities. Trump has repeatedly said Iran and the United States are close to an agreement, though there have been few signs of progress since a tenuous ceasefire took effect in early April.
The US military said a US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew after the US Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman’s coast while on patrol at around 3am on Tuesday (Monday, 11pm GMT).