US strikes on Iran after Apache helicopter shot down by Iranian drone – “There will be a response,” Tehran threatens

The US president had earlier stated that the incident was “nothing serious”, but later directly blamed Iran and approved a military response – Six US strikes on Qeshm Island – Explosions also in Bahrain

Takeaways…

Donald Trump has approved US strikes on Iranian targets after a US Apache helicopter was shot down in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the launch of “self-defense strikes” against Iran at approximately 12 midnight on Tuesday, in response to the shooting down.

The US Apache helicopter was hit by an Iranian drone, according to a report in the New York Times, while the two pilots were rescued.

Iran’s foreign minister warned that foreign forces near Iranian territory are in danger and the best solution is to leave.

These developments increase uncertainty about the maintenance of the ceasefire in the Gulf War, which was announced on April 8.

A new escalation is recorded in US-Iran relations, as Donald Trump approved US strikes against Iranian targets a few hours after he had attempted to downplay the shooting down of a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, stating that “it was nothing serious” and that the pilots are safe. Following the latest reports that the helicopter was hit by an Iranian drone, the US president directly blamed Tehran and said that the United States “must respond”, with CENTCOM announcing shortly afterwards the launch of “self-defence strikes” against Iran. According to reports, the US hit the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, while explosions were also reported in Bahrain.

Shortly after 2am on Wednesday, Iranian media reported that the situation in Iran was now calm following the US strikes. Mehr News reported that attacks were carried out on the island of Qeshm, as well as in Sirik, Jask and Mount Mobarakeh. No casualties have been reported.

The announcement of the American strikes

The Central Command of the American armed forces (CENTCOM) announced that the American forces began launching “self-defense strikes” against Iran at approximately 12 midnight on Tuesday (Greek time), following an order from Donald Trump.

In a statement, CENTCOM said that the operations were carried out “in response to the shooting down of a US Army Apache helicopter” that occurred the previous day.

“The mission is a proportionate response to unwarranted Iranian aggression,” the American administration noted.

For its part, Iranian state television, citing military sources, warned that there would be a “decisive response” if the United States uses the shooting down of the helicopter as a pretext for a military attack.

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. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 9, 2026

From Trump’s “no big deal” to “retaliation will be very strong”

Donald Trump said yesterday that he expected a “very strong” retaliation after Iran shot down a US helicopter, during statements he made by phone to an ABC News reporter.

“I think the retaliation will have to be very strong, very strong,” the US president told the television network’s reporter, who clarified that this statement was made just minutes before the US armed forces announced that they had begun carrying out strikes against the Islamic Republic.

However, earlier the US president had softened his tone, saying that it was not a big deal at all.

In a phone conversation with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, the US president initially said that the blockade had made Iran “very poor” and said that he would keep the blockade in place for as long as necessary.

At the same time, he tried to downplay the incident with the helicopter, saying that “it wasn’t a big deal” and emphasizing that “the pilot is fine.”

Information on the downing of the Apache

The US Apache helicopter that crashed on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an Iranian Shahed drone, according to a report in the New York Times citing a US official, confirming information previously reported by the Axios website.

A few hours after the downing, a US Navy floating drone located and rescued the two pilots near the coast of Oman, according to CENTCOM.

The US administration said the two crew members were recovered about two hours after the helicopter was hit.

Trump’s post and the warning for a response

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Donald Trump claimed that Iran was responsible for the shooting down of the US helicopter that was conducting a night patrol in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I have just been informed by our great armed forces that yesterday the Iranians shot down one of our state-of-the-art Apache helicopters while it was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. The two pilots are not injured and are safe,” the US president wrote.

“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States… pic.twitter.com/yMGXqG89ax

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 9, 2026

Trump added that “the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” without revealing what form the US response might take.

It is worth noting that in his previous statements on the incident, he had limited himself to confirming that the two crew members were in good health after their rescue, without attributing responsibility for the downing at the time.

Tehran’s threats

Responding to the American warnings, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on foreign military forces near Iranian territory to withdraw.

In a post on the X platform, he said:

“Foreign forces deployed near our territory are constantly in danger, due to human error on their part, a simple accident, or because they may find themselves in the crossfire. To reduce the risk, the best solution for them is to withdraw.”

The head of Iranian diplomacy added that “we prefer the language of diplomacy, but we also speak other languages.”

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bayer Ghalibaf, echoed this sentiment, writing in X:

“We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages much more fluently. Violate your commitments and we will turn to the one we know best.”

Second US aircraft lost in war

This is the second manned aircraft that the United States confirms was shot down by Iranian forces since the war began on February 28.

It followed the crash of an F-15E fighter-bomber in southwestern Iran in April. Both pilots were rescued, with one being recovered after a spectacular military operation.

Uncertainty over ceasefire

The latest developments have added to uncertainty over the prospects for the Gulf War ceasefire, which was announced on April 8, to hold.

Donald Trump’s new rhetoric marks a significant shift from what he said a few hours earlier, when he said US diplomacy was “in the final stages of a very, very good deal” to end the fighting in the next “two or three days”.

On Monday, Israel and Iran announced they would halt attacks on each other, following Donald Trump’s call for a halt to the first direct exchanges of fire since April.

However, Tehran warned that it would resume hostilities if Israel continued its attacks against its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.

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