The US military said it launched new strikes against Iran on Tuesday shortly after US President Donald Trump vowed to respond to the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter.
The US military’s Central Command said it carried out the strike in “proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”
“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,” the US military statement said.
Iran’s Mehr and Fars news agencies said the explosions were reported in areas of Hormozgan province, including Kouhestak, Sirik, Minab, and the coastal city of Bandar Abbas. The reports added that the exact location of these explosions has not yet been determined.
The latest attack has sparked concerns over the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
Why US attacked Iran?
A US official told Reuters that a one-way Iranian attack drone brought down the Apache. Trump said the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military said two crew members were rescued by a sea drone, in a first, and are in stable condition. Earlier in the day, it had said that an AH-64 Apache helicopter went down at around 3 am on Tuesday.
What Iran said?
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the strait is “thousands of miles away from US 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.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Al Jazeera that the helicopter that crashed over the Strait of Hormuz was not deliberately targeted by Iran.
The downing of the helicopter has strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect.
