Trump launches strikes against Iran after downing of US army helicopter

An AH-64 Apache flying above the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: US Central Command View image in fullscreen An AH-64 Apache flying above the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: US Central Command Trump launches strikes against Iran after downing of US army helicopter US president blames Tehran for loss of Apache gunship, whose crew were rescued by a drone near strait of Hormuz Middle East crisis – live updates The US has launched strikes against Iran after Donald Trump blamed Tehran for downing a US army helicopter near the strait of Hormuz, imperilling a shaky ceasefire that was announced by the two countries in April. The attacks triggered a wave of retaliatory strikes from Iran on Wednesday morning, with Tehran saying it had targeted Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, Iranian media reported, while Kuwait reported its air defences were firing after Tehran said drones had launched at Ali Al Salem base, near the Iraqi border. Iran said targets had included F-35 fighter jet hangars and a command-and-control centre. US officials told Reuters nearly all the missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted. Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted and shot down five missiles before they hit their target. In the aftermath of the strikes, Iran’s foreign ministry warned that its neighbours in the Gulf had a “legal and moral responsibility” to prevent American and Israeli strikes. US Central Command said Trump had directed the military to launch strikes beginning at 10pm UK time on Tuesday in response to the downing of the Apache helicopter gunship off the coast of Oman earlier. US media, citing White House officials, have said Centcom is targeting radar and air defence facilities along the strait of Hormuz. JD Vance claims US ‘very close’ to peace deal with Iran Read more Trump had said in a post on his Truth Social platform that Iran was responsible for the crash, and that Washington could not allow such an event to go unanswered. A US official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone but it wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional. Official statements have said only that the incident was under investigation. Trump said earlier on social media that the helicopter had been “shot down”. At the same time, US officials also signalled that they were not seeking a return to full-scale war with Iran. “The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” Centcom said. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi responded on social media, saying Iran “will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe.” The helicopter’s two crew members were later rescued in an unprecedented operation using an unmanned drone boat, the US military said. Trump played down the incident in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, s