CIREBON NEWS – The United States (US) immediately carried out a retaliatory attack after accusing Iran of downing an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz area. Even though the helicopter exploded, the two pilots were rescued.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) described the strike as a “proportional response” to the suspected downing of an AH-64 Apache helicopter. Although the investigation into the helicopter crash is still ongoing, suspicions point to the involvement of an Iranian drone.
CENTCOM said President Donald Trump had ordered “self-defense strikes… in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.”
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“This mission is a proportional response to Iran’s unjustified aggression,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“There were two pilots involved, both of whom survived and were uninjured. Nonetheless, the United States must, if necessary, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform.
Iran’s Press TV reported that several projectiles hit the strategic island of Qeshm near the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, which is home to a military base and a major oil terminal.
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Attacks were also reported in other parts of Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. Of course, the incident greatly disrupted the Washington-Tehran peace talks mediated by Islamabad.
Earlier on Tuesday, CENTCOM said the helicopter crashed off the coast of Oman while patrolling the area and its two pilots had been rescued.
Tehran has not directly confirmed the US claim that the helicopter was shot down, with Al Jazeera citing a senior Iranian diplomat as saying that there was “no deliberate attack” on the plane.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in
