U.S. Military Begins Strikes Against Iran After Trump Blames Downing of Apache Helicopter

The U.S. military began strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. Central Command saying the action would be "a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression."

“President Donald Trump has authorised 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”

Al Jazeera

Trump wrote on Truth Social that "the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters" while the helicopter was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz, and he added that both pilots were "safe and uninjured."

Al Jazeera

U.S. officials said the Apache went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, and they said it was under investigation, while Iranian state media reported explosions were heard on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said the two aviators were rescued at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after the crash, after an unmanned boat located them in the water and then a helicopter picked them up.

The crash and the subsequent strikes further strained a two-month ceasefire after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz is "thousands of miles away from U.S. shores" and argued that foreign forces are "at constant risk" due to "plain accidents" or being caught in crossfire.

In response to Trump’s accusation, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X: "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."

Al-Ayyam News

U.S. Central Command said it began launching self-defense strikes at 17:00 EST (22:00 BST) on Tuesday, and it described the mission as "a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression."

i24NEWS reported that the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force spokesperson warned: "soon, a heavy response will be given to the enemy's hostile actions," as explosions were reported in Sirik, an Iranian port city on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Washington Times described Trump’s plan to retaliate after the crash, quoting his post that "the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."

The downing of the helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz further strained a two-month ceasefire, with the BBC describing the incident as emerging as Israeli forces carried out strikes across southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Iranian state television said Tuesday that Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units, and the AP reported that the downing of the helicopter near the critical shipping lane came as the war had already shaken the global economy and driven up energy prices.

AP said the drone boat rescue was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, with Capt. Tim Hawkins describing the operation as the two aviators being spotted and picked up by a drone boat and then hoisted to a helicopter.

The Guardian framed the broader stakes as European fashion retailers facing scrutiny after a deadly Bangladesh factory fire, but in the U.S. conflict coverage the focus remained on the Strait of Hormuz as a key corridor, with the AP noting that Iran has effectively closed the shipping lane during its war with the U.S. and Israel.

NBC News reported that CENTCOM said the two crew members were rescued within around two hours of the incident and were in stable condition, while CENTCOM said the cause of the incident was under investigation.