Live: US striking Iran in response to downing of helicopter, military says

Summary

The US has launched retaliatory strikes on Iran following the downing of an American helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday
US forces began striking at 17:00 EST (22:00 BST) on Tuesday, US Central Command (Centcom) said, calling the mission a "proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression"
Axios reports a US official as saying Iranian air defence and radar systems in the south of the country were targeted
Iran's foreign minister said on X that the country's armed forces "will leave no attack or threat unanswered"
The two crew members of the downed US Apache helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone
In the wider Middle Eastern conflict, the incident follows Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon on Monday

Live Reporting

Edited by Oliver O'Connell and Tom Bennett

Trump and Netanyahu are risking a permacrisispublished at 00:14 BST
Jeremy Bowen
International editor
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu believed that victory over Iran would reshape the Middle East.
The region is being reshaped. But not in the way they expected. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not been defeated. The risk now is of a long, attritional permacrisis that will lurch in and out of outright conflict.
The Iranian regime has proved to be a much harder nut to crack than Trump and Netanyahu had assumed. Their judgement was wrong, and they have lost control of the consequences.
The downing of the US helicopter is another reminder that Iran's rulers can still hurt the Americans and will not budge in their determination to come out of this war on top. For them, victory equals survival and enhanced deterrence, in the shape of acknowledgement of their control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic waterways.
Read more of Jeremy Bowen's analysis on the war here: Trump and Netanyahu wanted to reshape the Middle East - now they risk a permacrisis
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb 28
Recap: US helicopter downed over the Strait of Hormuzpublished at 23:50 BST
Image source, AFP
These strikes come after the US military said one of its helicopters was downed by an Iranian drone near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Here's a quick recap:
- After the helicopter was downed, its two crew members were rescued by an American sea drone, the military said
- US Central Command (Centcom) said the two "soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition" after their AH-64 Apache helicopter went down "near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters"
- The drone rescued the soldiers and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport, a US official told the BBC's US media partner, CBS News
- President Donald Trump accused Iran of shooting down the aircraft while it was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz and directed strikes in response to "unjustified Iranian aggression"
- One US official told CBS that it's not clear if the drone deliberately attacked the helicopter
- Iranian media appeared to acknowledge the incident, with the semi-official Mehr News Agency reporting that Iran had not claimed responsibility

'Leave our region if you want to be safe,' Iranian foreign minister sayspublished at 23:48 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has just commented on the new strikes in a post on X.
"Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered," he writes.
He added: "Leave our region if you want to be safe."
US response to be 'very powerful', Trump sayspublished at 23:35 BST
Image source, US Navy
Image caption,
Trump spoke to ABC News, reportedly as the latest strikes were being launched
President Donald Trump told ABC News earlier that retaliatory strikes on Iran would be "very strong, very powerful" after the country downed a US helicopter last night.
During the phone interview, Trump reportedly said it was "important" for the US to respond to the helicopter downing.
"We are responding as we speak," he is quoted as saying.
The president added: "This is a response to what they did, they did with our helicopter last night, and I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is."

Explosions reported along Gulf - Iranian state mediapublished at 23:19 BST
Iranian state television says some are reporting explosions and air defence activity along the coast of the Persian Gulf, including in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Sirik.
US struck Iranian defence and radar systems, Axios sayspublished at 23:16 BST
The US has reportedly hit several Iranian defence and radar systems, according to US oulet Axios, citing a US official.

US launches retaliatory strikes on Iran, military sayspublished at 23:10 BST
The US has launched strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump accused the country of shooting down a US helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
American forces began strikes at 17:00 EST (22:00 BST) on Tuesday in response to the helicopter downing, US Central Command (Centcom) said.
"The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression," Centcom said in a statement.
The two crew members of the downed US Apache helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone, Centcom said earlier.
"There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured," Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier today. "Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."