U.S. forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.

Authorities released no additional details.

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                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/6/1781042432430.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>U.S. forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States… <a href="https://t.co/yMGXqG89ax">pic.twitter.com/yMGXqG89ax</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2064388175473115336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Authorities released no additional details.</p>

U.S. launches strikes on Iran in response to downed helicopter