The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said it struck Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as part of retaliatory strikes after an American Apache helicopter was downed in the region.
The army helicopter was shot while patrolling the Hormuz waters on Monday.
Just as CENTCOM announced the strikes, President Donald Trump told ABC news: “I think it’s very important to respond. They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak.”
Earlier, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that the helicopter incident “wasn’t a big deal”, adding that “the pilot is fine”.
The two crew members of the downed US Apache helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone.
CENTCOM said it “completed self-defence strikes” but Abbas Araghchi, Iranian foreign minister, promised a response.
“Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” Araghchi said.
The minister did not address the downed helicopter but said intruders needed to leave the region if they wanted to be safe.
Afterwards, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked the US fifth fleet in Bahrain and an airbase in Jordan in response to US strikes, while Kuwait reported coming under Iranian attack.
Before the latest US strikes, Iran and Israel had exchanged missiles, marking the most serious breach of the truce since it was brokered in April.
While both sides later agreed to halt hostilities after Trump called for an immediate ceasefire, each warned that military action could resume if the other launched fresh attacks.
