US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed
The United States on Tuesday launched strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts over a potential peace deal and further straining a fragile ceasefire.
"I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is," Trump told ABC News, News.az reports.
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Iran's state media reported that Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked and that a projectile hit was confirmed in the port city of Sirik on the strait. Sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, and later in the vicinity of Jask county, near the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local sources and residents..
Following the initial strikes, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X that the country would "leave no attack or threat unanswered."
In an earlier post, he did not directly address the helicopter incident, but said foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire.
"To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave," he wrote.
Two U.S. pilots involved in the helicopter incident were uninjured, according to Trump. The Apache was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iran's state media cited a military source as saying that no offensive air military operations have been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.
The source was also quoted as saying that there would be a decisive response in the event of renewed "hostility by the enemy" in response to the helicopter incident.
The latest U.S. strikes began at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) and "the mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression", the U.S. military said on X.
Several Iranian air defense systems and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz were targeted, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official.
By Faig Mahmudov
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