MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US launches strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an Apache helicopter

The strikes come amid a week of heightened regional tension

The United States launched a series of strikes against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command (Centcom) said. The action marks a sharp escalation that deepens doubts over the ceasefire in place since April 8 and over the peace negotiations that President Donald Trump says are within reach.

“US Central Command forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran” at 5 p.m. Washington time (9 p.m. GMT) “in response to yesterday's downing of a US Army Apache helicopter,” Centcom said in a statement. The military command described the mission as “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” though it did not detail the targets struck.

The helicopter went down near the coast of Oman on Monday night while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. Its two crew members were rescued alive about two hours later by a naval surface drone, in the first operation of its kind. According to US officials cited by ABC, the aircraft was brought down by an Iranian drone, though the investigation has not yet determined whether Tehran intended to attack it. Centcom did not initially attribute the downing to Iran, but Trump did, on his Truth Social network: ”The Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters (…). The two pilots are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,“ he wrote.

Iran responded with warnings. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that ”foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own errors, accidents, or being caught in crossfire.“ The speaker of parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, was more blunt: ”We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages with much greater fluency,“ he said, adding, ”You reap what you sow.“

The strikes come amid a week of heightened regional tension. The April 8 ceasefire was left on the brink of collapse after an exchange of blows between Israel and Iran: Tehran fired missiles on Sunday in retaliation for Israeli bombings of Beirut and Hezbollah positions, and Israel responded by striking several Iranian cities. Trump demanded on Monday an ”immediate“ end to the fire, including by his Israeli ally. The Apache is the second crewed US aircraft lost in the conflict, after an F-15 fighter jet was shot down in April. On Monday, US forces also fired on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman for violating the blockade Washington has imposed on Iranian ports since April 13.

Despite the escalation, Trump insisted a deal was close. Early Tuesday, on his return to Washington from New York, where he attended an NBA Finals game, he said the talks were ”on track“ and that a pact barring Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons could be signed in ”two or three days,“ after which the Strait of Hormuz would reopen ”immediately.” It is one of many deadlines the president has floated in a war that has passed 100 days. Hours before the strikes, Israel killed at least 29 people in Tyre, the largest city in southern Lebanon, despite Washington's warnings.