US strikes Iran after Trump blames Tehran for downing Army helicopter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. subject said Tuesday that it carried retired strikes connected Iran pursuing the clang of an Army chopper adjacent the Strait of Hormuz that President Donald Trump blamed connected the Islamic Republic.

U.S. Central Command said connected societal media that the strikes would beryllium “a proportional effect to unjustified Iranian aggression.” Iranian authorities media reported that explosions were heard connected Qeshm Island successful the Strait of Hormuz, a captious shipping lane that Iran has efficaciously closed during the war, earlier saying that the question of American attacks successful the southbound has “subsided.”

Trump said earlier successful a societal media station that Iran had changeable down the aircralft 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 the country's territory “are astatine changeless risk” and aboriginal said aft the strikes that Iran "will permission nary onslaught oregon menace unanswered."

The downing of the chopper and the resulting 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 “are harmless 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, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said successful a societal media station that 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. “To trim risk, champion solution is for them to leave.”

Trump insists an Iran woody is coming

Before helium accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism implicit negotiations with Iran.

“We person a bully chance” of signing a woody successful “two oregon 3 days," Trump said precocious Monday. But helium did not supply immoderate details connected wherefore determination was crushed for caller optimism. In the 2 months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an archetypal ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a woody is near.

“We’re precise adjacent to having a very, precise good, strong, almighty deal,” the president said.

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.

Before Trump’s comments connected negotiations, Qalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks truthful acold connected a imaginable woody “contradicted the agreed-upon sections," showing that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

The continued warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah is inactive a apical Iranian precedence arsenic well. 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.

Israel issues a informing for Tyre, Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli subject issued an evacuation informing for Lebanon’s confederate larboard metropolis of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has truthful acold been spared from airstrikes connected the city.

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods successful Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas arsenic Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal country implicit the past 2 weeks.

After past week’s warning, the Lebanese service deployed to the Christian territory of Tyre successful an effort to forestall Israeli attacks determination and to amusement that Hezbollah has nary equipped beingness successful the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted connected X connected Monday that the Israeli subject “will person to enactment against their violent activities successful the vicinity soon.”

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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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