US and Iran launch airstrikes after Trump blamed Tehran for downing Army helicopter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwaiti aerial defenses opened occurrence Wednesday arsenic the tiny Mideast federation came nether onslaught from Iran.

Iran had said it targeted the federation to retaliate implicit American airstrikes earlier Wednesday morning.

Iran besides claimed attacks targeting Bahrain and Jordan.

Tehran had vowed to respond aft the U.S. launched airstrikes connected Iran pursuing the clang of an Army chopper adjacent the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said earlier connected societal media that Iran had changeable down the craft portion it was connected patrol implicit the strait.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. subject launched airstrikes Wednesday connected Iran pursuing the clang of an Army chopper adjacent the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. President Donald Trump blamed connected the Islamic Republic.

Tehran vowed to respond, again throwing into question efforts to scope a imperishable ceasefire successful the Iran warfare that's seen the Strait of Hormuz efficaciously choked disconnected and planetary vigor prices spike. Missile alert sirens sounded successful the land kingdom of Bahrain, location to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which Tehran said it targeted for retaliation.

Fighter jets from the U.S. Air Force and Navy conducted the strikes, the U.S. military's Central Command said, targeting “air defense, crushed power stations, and surveillance radar sites.” Iran acknowledged strikes astir Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave nary details connected the damage.

“The cognition was a proportional effect to caller attacks connected U.S. forces and planetary commercialized ships transiting determination waters,” Central Command said.

Trump said earlier successful a societal media station that Iran had changeable down the craft portion it was connected patrol implicit the strait and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” Iran's apical diplomat said overseas subject forces adjacent its territory “are astatine changeless risk” and aboriginal vowed that determination would beryllium a effect to the caller U.S. strikes.

Iranian forces “will permission nary onslaught oregon menace unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said connected X. “Leave our portion if you privation to beryllium safe.”

The downing of the Apache onslaught chopper and the strikes by the U.S. subject further strained a two-month ceasefire a time aft Iran and Israel exchanged occurrence for the archetypal clip since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian authorities tv said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed astatine slightest 2 members of the country’s air-defense units.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran connected Feb. 28, the warfare has shaken the planetary economy, driven up vigor prices astir the satellite and made galore basics, including food, much expensive.

Officials person been incapable to crook the April ceasefire into a woody to permanently extremity the conflict, peculiarly arsenic Israel intensifies and expands its subject run successful Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

US chopper collided with Iranian drone, authoritative says

The Army AH-64 Apache onslaught chopper went down aft colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t wide whether the collision was intentional, and authoritative statements lone said the clang is nether investigation. CNN, CBS News and different outlets earlier reported the collision.

In the archetypal known cognition of its benignant by the American military, a drone vessel rescued 2 aviators astatine 3:30 a.m. section clip Tuesday, astir 2 hours aft their craft went down during a patrol disconnected the seashore of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

Trump said some work members were "safe and uninjured."

The U.S. work members were spotted and picked up by a drone vessel that took them to different determination connected the water, wherever they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. He initially said the drone took the 2 to shore, and helium did not elaborate connected the updated timeline.

It was the archetypal known drone rescue astatine oversea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.

AH-64 Apache helicopters person been a cardinal plus for the American subject arsenic it enforces a blockade connected Iranian crude lipid shipments and tankers, seeking to unit Tehran into a deal. The helicopters person besides been utilized by the United Arab Emirates to sprout down Iranian drones.

The drone utilized to execute the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) vas called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established successful 2021 arsenic the Navy’s archetypal uncrewed and artificial quality portion that focuses connected maritime information successful the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Soon aft Trump made his accusation that Iran changeable down the aircraft, Araghchi said the strait is “thousands of miles distant from U.S. shores.”

“Foreign forces successful proximity to our territory are astatine changeless hazard connected relationship of their ain quality errors, plain accidents, oregon perchance being caught successful crossfire,” Araghchi wrote connected societal media. “To trim risk, champion solution is for them to leave.”

Trump had insisted an Iran woody was coming

Before helium accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism implicit negotiations with Iran, but helium didn't accidental wherefore determination was crushed for optimism.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, person been trying for weeks to get a woody crossed the line. However, some Iran and the U.S. person taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to spot Iran springiness up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to beryllium entombed successful the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day warfare successful 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding alleviation from sanctions. It besides wants the merchandise of frozen assets adjacent earlier a last statement is successful place, thing rejected by Trump.

The continued warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah is inactive a apical Iranian priority. Lebanon’s service chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan connected Tuesday. There, helium met Pakistan’s service chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a cardinal fig successful the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal's sojourn comes arsenic Lebanon's authorities takes an progressively hard enactment connected Hezbollah but remains incapable to disarm the almighty militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran connected Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defence of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon's authorities should instrumentality this accidental to amended relations with Tehran.

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This mentation corrects that the rescue of the 2 aviators, not the chopper crash, occurred astatine 3:30 a.m.

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Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price successful New York, Will Weissert successful Washington, Bassem Mroue successful Beirut, Munir Ahmed successful Islamabad and Russ Bynum successful Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

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