Trump Orders US Strikes on Iran After Iran Shoots Down Apache Helicopter Near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump authorized a fresh round of attacks against Iran after he accused the country of shooting down a United States military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “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,”.

“CENTCOM said Iran struck down an Army Apache helicopter on Monday”

ABC News

Within hours, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had resumed attacks on Iran, calling them “self-defence strikes,” and U.S. military confirmed it had launched an attack around 5pm US Eastern time (21:00 GMT).

ABC News

AP reported that the U.S. military said Tuesday it carried out strikes on Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic, with Tehran vowing to respond.

The U.S. military said the mission was “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” and Iranian state media reported explosions heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz before saying the wave of American attacks in the south had “subsided.”

Trump told ABC News that “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful,” as CENTCOM said it began “self-defense strikes” at 5 p.m. ET at the direction of President Trump.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that foreign forces near its territory “are at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a response, saying, “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”

Al Jazeera

AP said the downing of the helicopter and the strikes further strained a two-month ceasefire, a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect.

CBS News reported that two U.S. officials said initial reports indicated an Iranian drone had struck the helicopter, while the U.S. Central Command said the two pilots were safely rescued within about two hours and were uninjured.

AP said the downing and the U.S. strikes further strained a two-month ceasefire and that officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

AP also linked the escalation to the broader war, saying Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah, while Iranian state television said Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

Al Jazeera reported that the latest attack risks rupturing an April 8 truce that paused the US-Israel war against Iran, though it said the agreement has already been pushed to the brink by repeated skirmishes across the region.

In the same context, Al Jazeera quoted Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and its chief negotiator, saying, “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,” as Sina Azodi of Georgetown University said Iran is trying to pressure Trump to finalize an agreement that would comprehensively end the conflict.