In retaliation for the downing of an Apache helicopter by Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, the US launched strikes on Iran on Tuesday.
The US Central Command termed the attacks “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression” as the blasts were reported along the Persian Gulf coast — including in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Sirik — and the Strait of Hormuz. According to Axios, the new strikes, launched at 17:00 EST (22:00 BST), targeted Iranian defence and radar systems, news website Axios reported.
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…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 9, 2026
The attack came after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened Iran with retaliation after claiming that an American military’s Apache helicopter was shot down by Tehran while it was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.”
Issuing a threat of retaliation to Iran, the US President wrote, “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
This was reportedly America’s first loss of an Apache helicopter since the war with Iran began in February.
Trump had earlier said that a deal with Tehran will come “in another three days” and that Washington was “in the final throes” of securing a peace agreement to end the over 100-day regional conflict.
