US military retaliates, launches strikes against Iran

The United States military has begun conducting what it described as “self-defense strikes” against Iran following the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, announced on Tuesday that American forces started the operations at about 5 p.m. ET, saying the action was carried out on the direction of the Commander-in-Chief and in response to what it called “Iranian aggression.”

CENTCOM described the strikes as a “proportional response” to the incident involving the helicopter, which was reportedly shot down during a patrol mission in the strategic waterway.

“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 aggression,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

The move follows comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who confirmed that he had been briefed by the military and said the helicopter was hit overnight.

Trump added that the two pilots on board survived the incident without injuries, and vowed that the United States would respond.