US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran hours after an American Apache attack helicopter was brought down near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
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While Trump publicly promised retaliation, he had later sought to play down the helicopter incident, saying it was "not a big deal" because the pilots had survived. Meanwhile, Iran's state media, citing military sources, reported that IRGC also vowed "decisive response" against the "renewed hostilities by the enemy under the pretext of helicopter crash."
Here are the top developments so far.
US launches 'self-defence' strikes against Iran
The US central command announced that US forces had begun conducting strikes against Iran at President Trump's direction.
In a statement posted on X, it wrote, "US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defence strikes against Iran at 5 pm ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression."