CENTCOM described the attacks as a proportional response to the alleged downing of an AH-64 Apache

The US said it has launched strikes in Iran in response to what it described as the downing of an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US President Donald Trump had ordered "self-defense strikes... in response to yesterday's downing of a US Army Apache helicopter."

"The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression," CENTCOM said in a statement on X.

Iranian broadcaster Press TV reported that several projectiles struck the strategic island of Qeshm near the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, which hosts a military base and a key oil terminal. Strikes were also reported in other parts of Iran's southern Hormozgan Province.

Earlier on Tuesday, CENTCOM said the helicopter had crashed off the coast of Oman while patrolling the area and that its two pilots had been rescued.

Tehran has not directly confirmed the US claim that the helicopter was shot down, with Al Jazeera citing a senior Iranian diplomat as saying "there was no deliberate attack" on the aircraft.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that US forces operating near Iranian territory "are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire."

Shortly after the latest US strikes, Araghchi warned that Iran "will leave no attack or threat unanswered."

"Leave our region if you want to be safe," he wrote on X.

The latest escalation comes as Trump again claimed that his administration was close to reaching a deal with Iran and said the US would achieve a "total victory" within days or weeks.

A US official told CNN that the new strikes were intended as a "warning shot" and that Washington believed they would not derail the talks.

Iran threatened to suspend negotiations last week after Israel carried out airstrikes in Lebanon, where nearly 3,700 people have been killed since the IDF resumed its military operation in response to attacks by Hezbollah. Tehran's peace terms with the US include the cessation of fighting "on all fronts," including Lebanon.

Trump has since held several heated phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to hold off on further strikes in Lebanon.

(RT.com)