The United States and Iran exchanged fire in the Middle East overnight, putting a temporary ceasefire in serious jeopardy, the Independent reported.
Tensions flared after a US AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night. President Donald Trump directly blamed Tehran and said the aircraft was shot down by an Iranian kamikaze drone (Shahed type). Iran denied carrying out a deliberate attack and hinted at a technical malfunction or accident.
The two American pilots were successfully located and rescued within two hours by an unmanned surface drone of the US Fifth Fleet. They are in stable condition and uninjured.
The US Air Force and Navy launched a series of “proportionate self-defense strikes” on Trump’s orders. The US Central Command said in a statement that the operation had now concluded. Three waves of precision-guided munitions were launched from fighter jets. The strikes were concentrated along Iran’s southern coast and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian air defense (ADF) systems, radar stations and ground-based drone control points were hit. Iranian media (including the Tasnim and Mehr agencies) reported powerful explosions on Qeshm Island, in the port city of Bandar Abbas, and in the areas of Jask, Sirik and Minab. Local authorities said that the strikes in Sirik also hit two domestic water tanks, disrupting water supplies. Iran's state-run IRIB later reported that the situation along the coast had calmed down.
Shortly after the US strikes, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officially announced that it had launched a swarm of drones at the US Fifth Fleet bases in Bahrain in direct retaliation. Details of the damage there are still being determined. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted a stark warning on the X platform, saying that the country's armed forces would not leave any threat unanswered, and called on US forces to leave the region immediately if they wanted to be safe.
Despite the sharp military escalation, the White House is trying to minimize diplomatic damage. US officials told CNN that the strikes were intended more as a “warning shot” and the administration believes they will not derail the secret peace talks currently being brokered by Pakistan. According to Vice President J.D. Vance, the two countries remain relatively close to a long-term nuclear and economic agreement that would end the Iran War of 2026.
In international markets, the price of “Brent“ oil reacted with slight volatility, but remained stable around the levels of 95-100 dollars per barrel