US hits Iran in new wave of airstrikes following helicopter attack
Trump orders retaliatory strikes on Iran after Apache helicopter was shot down near Hormuz
The United States launched fresh airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump pledged retaliation for the reported downing of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter.
US Central Command said military forces began conducting what it described as "self-defence strikes" at 5 pm5 Eastern Time (1am Gulf Standard Time, on Wednesday) on the president's orders.
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The airstrikes were framed as a proportional response to the downing of an Army AH-64 Apache during a patrol near the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump accusing Iran of the attack via an Iranian drone.
Iran denied involvement, blaming possible accidents or errors in the shared waters, while the pilots were safely rescued by a Saronic Corsair unmanned vessel.
"Forces under US Central Command began launching self-defence strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief's direction, in response to yesterday's downing of a US Army Apache helicopter," CentCom said in a statement posted on social media.
The strikes hit sites along Iran's Gulf coast, threatening a fragile ceasefire in the ongoing 2026 US-Iran war.
wiping over $2 trillion from the S&P 500 amid
Renewed fears over oil flow through the vital strait drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to close lower on Tuesday as an early rally in tech stocks lost momentum and investors reacted to rising geopolitical tensions after Trump pledged retaliation.
Latest escalation
The strikes mark the latest escalation in the rapidly expanding confrontation between Washington and Tehran, raising concerns that the conflict could widen further across the Middle East.
The Pentagon has not immediately released details on the targets hit or the extent of the operation. Iranian officials had not publicly commented on the US announcement.
President Trump earlier vowed a forceful response after the helicopter was shot down, describing the incident as a direct attack on US forces.
The two pilots aboard the attack helicopter survived the incident and were rescued after spending around two hours in the water.
The operation was carried out using a US Navy unmanned surface vessel, marking what officials described as the first known drone-assisted rescue at sea by the US military.
The latest exchange comes amid growing regional tensions that have already disrupted energy markets and heightened fears of a broader conflict involving key military and economic interests across the Gulf.
The development heightened concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate further, dampening hopes for a near-term ceasefire, roiling oil markets and weighing on investor sentiment.
