U.S. military strikes Iran after Apache helicopter downed

By order of Trump, American forces carried out strikes against Iran in response to the downing of an American Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command announced early Wednesday morning that it had completed three rounds of self-defense strikes against Iran, under the direction of President Donald Trump. This was in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

It said, "Central Command forces attacked Iranian air defense systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz, using precision munitions launched from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets. The operation constituted a measured response to the recent attacks against United States forces and against international commercial vessels that were traveling through shipping lanes in the area." It also said, "U.S. forces remain on high alert and are preparing to defend themselves against unjustified Iranian aggression."

Earlier, Central Command said its forces had begun strikes against Iran. "The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression," the statement said.

The command's statement came shortly after Iranian media reported at least four explosions near the port of Sirik in Bandar Abbas Province, as well as additional explosions on Qeshm Island. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air and Space Force threatened a "severe response" to what it described as the enemy's "hostile actions."

Later, the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with the ayatollah regime, reported that the Islamic Republic had responded to the latest American strikes and hit U.S. Army bases in Bahrain. A senior American official said the strikes targeted several Iranian air defense and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz and were continuing.

An American official told CNN that the strikes were intended as a warning signal to Iran, and that Washington believes they will not harm the negotiations to end the war. President Trump addressed the strikes in Iran in a conversation with an ABC reporter and said, "This is a response to what Iran did to our helicopter last night, and I believe the response should be very strong and very powerful."

Earlier, Trump adopted a firm tone and made clear that the United States would have to respond to the helicopter-downing incident. "I have just been briefed by our military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our most sophisticated Apache helicopters while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots in the helicopter, and both are safe and unharmed," Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. He stated that "the United States must, by force of circumstances, respond to this attack."

However, shortly before the American strikes began, Trump told the Wall Street Journal in a phone call that the downing of the American helicopter was "not a big deal" and that "the pilot is fine."