The U.S. military has completed strikes against Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz that were launched earlier Tuesday in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. helicopter, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have hit the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Reuters reports.
American forces began strikes at 17:00 EST 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. Blasts were reported along the the coast of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
The two crew members of the downed US Apache helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone, Centcom said.
“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”