US targets Iran in response to downed Apache attack helicopter, Tehran retaliates

The US attacked 20 Iranian targets in response to an attack near the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes early Wednesday, June 10, in one of the biggest escalations since the April 8 ceasefire. Washington launched attacks on nearly 20 Iranian military targets in response to the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

US forces reportedly targeted radar systems, air defence batteries, drone command centres, and missile launch positions across southern Iran, including sites in Hormozgan province, Sirik and coastal military facilities overlooking the strategic waterway. The operation involved fighter aircraft, naval assets and precision-guided missiles over several hours.

The strikes came after a US Apache helicopter was shot down near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday morning, in what Washington described as an Iranian drone attack.

Iran responded within hours, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming responsibility for missile and drone attacks on American military facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Iranian state-linked media said the attacks targeted the Al-Azraq air base in Jordan, along with several US-linked installations across the Gulf region. Jordanian authorities said multiple incoming missiles and drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US to “leave our region” if it wanted to remain safe, saying Tehran would respond strongly to any attack or threat.

In a post on X, Araghchi said Iran’s armed forces would leave “no attack or threat unanswered” and warned that the history of the Persian Gulf was filled with “dire fates of intruding outsiders.” He also accused Washington of testing Iran’s determination despite what he described as the US defeat on the battlefield.

His remarks came after US officials described the latest American strikes as a limited and proportionate response to the downing of the Apache helicopter.

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