U.S. forces began launching strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday on President Trump’s orders, U.S. Central Command announced, in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier.

CENTCOM described the operation as self-defense strikes carried out at the commander in chief’s direction and called the mission a proportional response to what it termed “unjustified Iranian aggression.”

Trump had signaled the response earlier Tuesday. In a post on social media, he said the military had informed him that Iran shot down one of the helicopters while it patrolled over the Strait of Hormuz, that both crew members were safe and uninjured, and that “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

The AH-64 Apache went down near the coast of Oman during a patrol. U.S. officials said the helicopter was brought down by an Iranian drone, and that the aircraft was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. Its two crew members were pulled from the water by an unmanned Navy vessel within about two hours and were in stable condition — the first time the U.S. military has used a sea drone to recover personnel. CENTCOM had said Tuesday morning that the cause was under investigation and, at that point, did not assign responsibility to Iran.

Iran issued a warning hours before the strikes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said any foreign military personnel near Iranian territory was “at constant risk” and should leave the area as soon as possible, and disputed that the strait constitutes international waters.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)