US launches strikes on Iran in retaliation for downed helicopter

The U.S. military on Tuesday launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran shooting down an American Apache helicopter overnight, a response that President Trump hinted at earlier in the day.

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,” according to a statement from the command posted to X.

Centcom asserted that the mission was “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

The U.S. military earlier Tuesday revealed that the AH-64 Apache helicopter went down on Monday evening near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters. Two crew members were rescued by American forces using a Navy drone vessel within two hours and they are in stable........

© The Hill