The United States launched strikes against Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, a move that has cast fresh doubt over prospects for a peace agreement and placed additional pressure on an already fragile ceasefire.
“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News, defending the military action.
Iranian state media reported that Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack. A projectile strike was also confirmed in the port city of Sirik, while residents reported hearing explosions in Bandar Abbas and later near Jask County, close to the entrance of the strategically important waterway.
Iran Warns Against Further Escalation
In the aftermath of the strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi issued a warning on X, saying Iran would “leave no attack or threat unanswered”.
Earlier, without directly referring to the helicopter incident, Araqchi cautioned that the presence of foreign forces in the region increased the risk of accidents and unintended military confrontations.
“To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave,” he wrote, signalling Tehran’s continued opposition to foreign military deployments in the Gulf region.
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Details Emerge on Helicopter Incident
Trump said the two U.S. pilots involved in the helicopter incident were not injured. According to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, the Apache helicopter was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone.
Iran, however, disputed suggestions of recent military operations in the area. State media quoted a military source as saying that no offensive air operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz during the previous 24 hours.
The same source warned that any renewed “hostility by the enemy” would trigger a decisive response, underlining the growing risk of further confrontation between the two sides.
US Describes Strikes as ‘Proportional Response’
The latest U.S. military operation began at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT). In a statement posted on X, the U.S. military described the action as “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”.
Axios, citing a U.S. official, reported that several Iranian air defence and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz were among the targets hit during the operation.
The strikes mark another escalation in tensions around one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints, through which a significant share of global energy supplies passes.
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Peace Deal Prospects Face New Uncertainty
Despite ordering the strikes, Trump appeared to play down the helicopter incident during a phone interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he said, adding that “the pilot is fine.”
Even so, the latest confrontation threatens to complicate ongoing efforts aimed at securing a broader peace agreement to end the wider Middle East conflict. It also raises new questions about the future of navigation and trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for petroleum shipments and other global commodities.
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