The U.S. military said Tuesday it carried out strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic republic.
In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” They came after Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.
Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Apache helicopter that crashed went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. Several U.S. news outlets earlier reported the Iranian drone collision.
Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near the country’s territory “are at constant risk” and later said, after the strikes, that Iran “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
In a statement issued an hour after the strikes began, CENTCOM said the operation was completed.
The U.S. military said it had “struck Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions.” It described U.S. air force and navy fighter jets being involved in the attacks.
Iran has acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and elsewhere, but offered no details on damage.
On social media, Trump blames Iran
Trump had earlier said in a social media post that military officials told him that “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters.” He added that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.
Shortly before Trump’s post, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on X: “We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best. You ride the horse you saddled!”
And after Trump made his accusation, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the Strait of Hormuz is “thousands of miles away from U.S. shores.”
“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” Araghchi wrote. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.”
The downing of the helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defence units.
U.S. President Donald Trump says crew members who were aboard an army helicopter were not injured after a crash near the Strait of Hormuz. The circumstances around the crash, initially reported by the New York Times, were not immediately clear.
Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food , more expensive.
Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.
The crash occurred at about 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday off the coast of Oman while the helicopter was on a patrol, CENTCOM said.
An unmanned boat located the two aviators after they spent about two hours in the water, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for CENTCOM. He said it was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military.
The U.S. service members were picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for CENTCOM.
Hawkins initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
Trump insists Iran deal is coming
Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, as he has for several weeks.
“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” he said, without providing any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.
Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of U.S. airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.
Before Trump’s comments on negotiations, Qalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks so far on a possible deal “contradicted the agreed-upon sections,” showing that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”
The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority as well. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, travelled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.
Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia.
Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defence of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon’s government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.
Israel issues warning for Tyre, Lebanon
Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes on the city.
Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighbourhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.
A day after exchanging missile attacks, both Israel and Iran have stopped firing but said they’d retaliate if strikes resumed.
After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.
But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighbourhood soon.”
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