US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed

June 10 ------ The United States launched strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts about prospects for peace between the two countries. “They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak,” Trump told ABC News. “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is.”

Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked and that a projectile hit was confirmed in Sirik. Explosions were heard in eastern areas of Hormozgan, according to Iran’s Fars news agency. Trump earlier said the two US pilots involved in the incident were uninjured. The Apache was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly address the helicopter incident but said foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire. “To reduce risk, the best solution is for them to leave,” he said on social media. Iran’s state media later cited a military source as saying that no offensive air military operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours.

The source was also quoted as saying that there would be a decisive response in the event of renewed “hostility by the enemy” following the helicopter incident. Trump told The Wall Street Journal during a phone call on Tuesday that the incident “wasn’t a big deal” and stressed that “the pilot is fine.” However, the episode could add further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz, a vital conduit for petroleum and other commodities. Trump has repeatedly said Iran and the United States are close to an agreement, though there have been few signs of progress since a tenuous ceasefire took effect in early April.

A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew members, the US military said, after the US Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman’s coast while on patrol at around 3 am on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday). The US military’s Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the soldiers were rescued after two hours and were in s

Source: rappler.com