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US launches strikes against Iran over downed Apache helicopter
Two US crew members were rescued near Oman, but Trump’s decision to retaliate adds new strain to already fragile peace efforts
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Dewey Simin Washington
The United States on Tuesday launched fresh strikes against Iran hours after President Donald Trump vowed to retaliate against the downing of a US military helicopter.
The US Central Command said it began launching “self-defence strikes” against Iran at 5pm ET, describing the operation as a “proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”.
The attack came just hours after Trump pledged to respond after Iran shot down a US military helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.
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“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 wrote in a social media post.
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he said, adding that the two US pilots involved in the incident were safe and uninjured.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not directly address the incident, but he wrote on social media that “foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire”.
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