US launches new attacks on Iran after Trump blames Tehran for downed helicopter

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that new attacks had been launched against Iran in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter.

“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during the war, before saying the wave of American attacks in the south had “subsided.”

Trump said earlier in a social media post that Iran had shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the strait and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

“The Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president said on Truth Social, adding that he had been briefed by the military on the situation.

“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” Trump said. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near its territory “are at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a response to the new U.S. strikes.