AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg
“Our great military has just informed me that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly advanced Apache helicopters while it was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “There were two pilots on board, both safe and sound. Nevertheless, the United States must respond to this attack.”
The U.S. military launched strikes on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (10:00 p.m. British Summer Time) in response to the downing of the helicopter, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, according to the BBC.
“This mission is a proportionate response to Iran’s unprovoked aggression,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The U.S. military later clarified that in response to Monday’s downing of the American helicopter, Iranian air defense systems, ground control stations, and radar stations were targeted.
Three hours after the series of strikes began, U.S. Central Command announced the completion of the mission.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by announcing attacks on targets at U.S. military bases in the region.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump warned that retaliatory strikes against Iran would be “very strong.”
“We are responding right now,” the U.S. president said, adding: “This is a response to what they did, what they did to our helicopter last night, and I believe the response must be very strong, very powerful, and that is exactly what it is.”
What Iran Thinks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on the new U.S. strikes in X.
“Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. has decided to test our resolve. Our powerful armed forces will not leave a single attack or threat unanswered,” he wrote, adding: “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
In response to the new wave of U.S. strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced strikes on 21 targets at U.S. bases in the region, including in Bahrain and Jordan, while Kuwait reported intercepting an attack.
U.S. officials have not yet commented on reports of attacks on their bases, and it is unclear whether any damage was caused. However, according to local authorities, an air raid alert was issued in Bahrain, and the Iranian attacks were repelled.
