WASHINGTON — The U.S. army stated Tuesday it has begun strikes in opposition to Iran following the crash of a U.S. Military Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that U.S. President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.
In an announcement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command stated the strikes can be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” It comes after Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would reply.
Iranian state media reported that explosions have been heard on an Iranian island within the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had blamed Iran for capturing down a helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and stated the USA should reply. Iran’s prime diplomat stated overseas army forces close to the nation’s territory “are at fixed danger.”
President Donald Trump talks with reporters earlier than boarding Air Pressure One at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport in New York, early Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
AP Picture/Mark Schiefelbein
The Apache helicopter that crashed went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, in accordance with a U.S. official, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate an ongoing investigation.
It wasn’t clear whether or not the collision was intentional, and official statements solely stated the crash is below investigation. CNN, CBS Information and different retailers earlier reported the Iranian drone collision.
Trump stated Iran shot down the plane whereas it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz and declared that the U.S. “should, of necessity, reply to this assault,” in a submit to social media.
The U.S. army later introduced that it had begun strikes in opposition to Iran.
Within the first recognized operation of its form by the American army, a drone boat rescued the 2 aviators who have been aboard the Apache assault helicopter when it went down close to the essential transport lane that Iran has successfully closed throughout its warfare with the U.S. and Israel.
Trump stated in a social media submit that army officers advised him “the Iranians shot down certainly one of our extremely subtle Apache Helicopters.” Each service members “are protected and unhurt,” he added.
FILE – U.S. Military AH-64E Apache helicopters are pictured at Joint Base Andrews, Md., June 12, 2025.
AP Picture/Mark Schiefelbein, File
“Nonetheless, the USA should, of necessity, reply to this assault,” Trump wrote.
Quickly after Trump made his accusation, Iranian Overseas Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated in a social media submit that the strait is “1000’s of miles away from U.S. shores.”
“Overseas forces in proximity to our territory are at fixed danger on account of their very own human errors, plain accidents, or probably being caught in crossfire,” Araghchi wrote. “To cut back danger, finest answer is for them to depart.”
The downing of the helicopter additional strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged hearth for the primary time because the fragile truce took impact. Iranian state tv stated Tuesday that the Israeli assaults killed a minimum of two members of the nation’s air-defense models.
Because the U.S. and Israel started putting Iran on Feb. 28, the warfare has shaken the worldwide financial system, pushed up power costs around the globe and made many fundamentals, together with meals, costlier.
Officers have been unable to show the April ceasefire right into a deal to completely finish the battle, significantly as Israel intensifies and expands its army marketing campaign in Lebanon in opposition to the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
Military crew members picked up by drone boat
The Military aviators have been rescued at 3:30 a.m. native time Tuesday, about two hours after their helicopter went down throughout a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command stated.
The U.S. service members have been noticed and picked up by a drone boat that took them to a different location on the water, the place they have been picked up by a helicopter, stated Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Hawkins initially stated the drone took the 2 to shore, and he didn’t elaborate on the up to date timeline.
It was the primary recognized drone rescue at sea by the U.S. army, Hawkins stated.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American army because it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, in search of to strain Tehran right into a deal. The helicopters have additionally been utilized by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
The drone used to carry out the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) vessel referred to as a Corsair, Hawkins stated. It is manufactured by Saronic Applied sciences.
The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Job Pressure 59, established in 2021 because the Navy’s first uncrewed and synthetic intelligence unit that focuses on maritime safety within the Center East, together with the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
Trump insists an Iran deal is coming
Earlier than he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.
“We’ve probability” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump stated late Monday. However he didn’t present any particulars on why there was cause for brand new optimism. Within the two months because the U.S. and Iran agreed to an preliminary ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted {that a} deal is close to.
“We’re very near having a really, excellent, robust, highly effective deal,” the president stated.
Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been making an attempt for weeks to get a deal throughout the road. Nonetheless, each Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.
The U.S. needs to see Iran quit its stockpile of extremely enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed within the aftermath of American airstrikes that occurred through the 12-day warfare in 2025. However Iran is refusing that and demanding aid from sanctions. It additionally needs the discharge of frozen belongings even earlier than a closing settlement is in place, one thing rejected by Trump.
Earlier than Trump’s feedback on negotiations, Qalibaf stated Monday that Trump’s remarks up to now on a attainable deal “contradicted the agreed-upon sections,” exhibiting that the U.S. is “neither in search of a ceasefire nor dialogue.”
The continued preventing between Israel and Hezbollah continues to be a prime Iranian precedence as properly. Lebanon’s military chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s military chief, Area Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key determine within the Iran-U.S. talks.
Haykal’s go to comes as Lebanon’s authorities takes an more and more laborious line on Hezbollah however stays unable to disarm the highly effective militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in protection of our Lebanese folks,” suggesting that Lebanon’s authorities ought to take this chance to enhance relations with Tehran.
Israel points a warning for Tyre, Lebanon
In the meantime, the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port metropolis of Tyre, together with the Christian quarter, which has up to now been spared from airstrikes on town.
Final week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members have been amongst them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to these areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal space over the previous two weeks.
After final week’s warning, the Lebanese military deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to stop Israeli assaults there and to point out that Hezbollah has no armed presence within the space. However Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli army “should act in opposition to their terrorist actions within the neighborhood quickly.”
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This model corrects that the rescue of the 2 aviators, not the helicopter crash, occurred at 3:30 a.m.
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Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Related Press writers Michelle L. Worth in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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