The United States launched military strikes on Iranian targets after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of shooting down an American Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident marked a serious escalation in the ongoing hostilities between the two sides. According to the US military, the operation was described as a proportional response to what it termed unjustified Iranian aggression.

A US official told Reuters that the Apache helicopter had been brought down by an Iranian one‑way attack drone. President Trump confirmed that the two pilots aboard survived without injuries but vowed that Washington would respond decisively.

As the operation unfolded, a US official told Axios that American forces had targeted several Iranian air defence and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command characterised the strikes as self‑defence actions in response to the helicopter’s downing.

CENTCOM later confirmed that its forces had struck Iranian air defence systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strategic waterway, adding that the strikes had been completed.

Explosions were reported across parts of southern Iran early Wednesday. Iran’s Fars news agency said blasts were heard in eastern areas of Hormozgan province, while Mehr news agency reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian state media confirmed a projectile impact in Sirik and reported that Qeshm Island had also come under attack. These reports suggested that the US operation extended across multiple locations near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor through which a significant portion of the world’s oil shipments passes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly address the helicopter incident but warned that foreign military forces operating near Iran faced constant risks from accidents, miscalculations or being caught in crossfire.


He stated that the best solution to reduce risk was for foreign forces to leave the region. Following the US strikes, Araqchi warned Washington against further military action, saying that despite what he described as US defeats on the battlefield, America had chosen to test Iran’s resolve.

He declared that Iran’s armed forces would leave no attack or threat unanswered and urged foreign forces to withdraw if they wished to remain safe. He also invoked the history of the Persian Gulf, noting its many examples of the dire fates of intruding outsiders, in a clear warning after the US strikes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed they had targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones in retaliation for the US strikes on southern Iran. State media reported that clashes were ongoing and warned of a more severe response if US aggression continued.

The Guards also said the US strikes had damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks in the Iranian port town of Sirik. Prior to the US strikes, Iranian state media quoted a military source as saying that no offensive Iranian air operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz during the previous 24 hours, but warned that Iran would deliver a decisive response if faced with renewed hostility linked to the helicopter incident.

This exchange represents one of the most serious direct confrontations between the United States and Iran in recent years. It raises fears of a broader conflict in the Gulf and heightens concerns over regional security and global energy supplies, given the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

Agencies