An AH-64 Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, its two-person crew was rescued by an unmanned surface sea drone, the United States carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran and Iran launched strikes and missile and drone attacks that targeted U.S. bases in Jordan and Gulf countries including Bahrain and Kuwait.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the helicopter went down on June 8 at 7:33 p.m. ET and said the two soldiers were rescued about two hours later; CENTCOM said the cause of the incident is under investigation and that both are in stable condition.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the surface drone that assisted in the rescue was a U.S. Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59 and that the task force began fielding these drones in theater in late March. A market research firm estimated the cost of the boat drone used to rescue the Apache crew at about $1.2 million. U.S. officials described the vessel as looking like a speedboat; it located the two crew members, who boarded the craft and were taken to another location on the water where they were hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport.
CENTCOM said on X the mission was "a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression." President Trump wrote on Truth Social that "last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters," and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, posted on X: "We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we'll switch to what we speak best."
U.S. officials said the strikes began at 5 p.m. and targeted Iranian air defense sites, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz; a U.S. official said the military hit nearly 20 targets in the operation.
Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles that it said had targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and that there were no injuries; Jordan said explosives experts examined debris from the interceptions. Iranian state media said Iran also launched early-morning drone attacks on U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait; both countries sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. IRIB said naval forces had launched drone strikes targeting the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and Kuwait's army said its "air defense systems" were intercepting hostile aerial targets.
A tanker off the coast of Oman near the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz issued a distress call saying it had been struck by a missile and that a fire had broken out in its engine room, a British maritime security company said. The U.K. Navy's Maritime Trade Operations agency said local authorities reported a fire in a tanker's engine room and were on the scene assisting with evacuation. The agency said two people were reported missing and there was one casualty with unspecified injuries and that there had been no known environmental impact.
A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry and negotiating team, Esmail Baqaei, said Iranian officials would review their position in negotiations in light of the latest strikes and accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement, calling the U.S. actions "damaging this diplomatic process." President Trump wrote on social media that Iran had taken "too long" to negotiate and would "pay the price," and he told ABC News that he believed the U.S. response "should be very strong, very powerful."
Iranian officials have said they did not target the U.S. helicopter and suggested it went down in an accident.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that his country would "leave no attack or threat unanswered," saying the U.S. had suffered "defeats on the battlefield."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched strikes on 21 targets at U.S. bases in the region, describing one set of attacks as hitting a base in Bahrain and another as hitting a base in Jordan.
The IRGC said the latest U.S. strikes targeted the cities of Jask and Sirik and Qeshm island, and that the strikes damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks.
U.S. officials said Iran used a drone to launch the attack on the helicopter, though it was not clear whether the drone deliberately attacked the aircraft, and the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Iran had not claimed responsibility for the downed aircraft.
A U.S. official said nearly all of the Iranian missiles and drones launched at U.S. bases in the Middle East in response were intercepted, with no reported casualties.
Fox News quoted President Trump as saying an Iranian drone had hit the helicopter without exploding as it flew "very low."
Some reports said U.S. strikes also damaged water facilities and reservoirs, leaving thousands without water.