US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed

The United States on Tuesday launched strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts about prospects for peace between the two countries.

“The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” U.S. Central Command said on X .

Trump earlier said the two U.S. pilots involved in the incident were uninjured but that the United States would respond to the attack.

The Apache was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly address the incident, but said foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire.

“To reduce risk, 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 have 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” in response to 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 well 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 U.S. Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew, the U.S. military said, after the U.S. Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman’s coast while on patrol at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

U.S. Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the soldiers were rescued after two hours and said they were in stable condition — a more cautious assessment than Trump’s description.

周二，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普称德黑兰在霍尔木兹海峡击落了一架美国阿帕奇直升机后，美国对伊朗发动了袭击，这加深了人们对两国和平前景的疑虑。

“此次行动是对伊朗无端侵略行为的相应回应，”美国中央司令部在X上表示。

特朗普早些时候表示，涉事的两名美国飞行员没有受伤，但美国将对此次袭击作出回应。

一位不愿透露姓名的美国官员表示，这架阿帕奇直升机是被一架伊朗单向攻击无人机击落的。

伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇没有直接回应这起事件，但他表示，该地区的外国军队有卷入事故或交火的风险。

他在社交媒体上表示：“为了降低风险，最好的办法就是让他们离开。”

伊朗国家媒体随后援引军方消息人士的话称，过去 24 小时内，霍尔木兹海峡没有进行任何进攻性空中军事行动。

消息人士还表示，如果敌方因直升机事件而再次表现出敌意，将会采取果断的回应。

特朗普周二在与《华尔街日报》的电话中表示，这起事件“没什么大不了的”，并强调“飞行员没事”。

然而，这一事件很可能会进一步加剧促成和平协议的努力，以结束更广泛的中东战争并重新开放霍尔木兹海峡，霍尔木兹海峡是石油和其他商品的重要通道。

特朗普一再表示，伊朗和美国即将达成协议，但自 4 月初脆弱的停火协议生效以来，几乎没有取得任何进展的迹象。

美国军方表示，周二凌晨3点左右，一架美国陆军攻击直升机在阿曼海岸附近海域巡逻时坠毁，美国海军一架水面无人机发现并救起了两名机组人员。

美国中央司令部没有说明坠机原因。司令部称，士兵们在两小时后获救，目前情况稳定——这一评估比特朗普的说法更为谨慎。