US begins strikes against Iran following crash of Army Apache helicopter

Mr Trump blamed Iran for the crash (AP)

The US military said it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a US Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman.

In a statement posted to social media, US Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”.

The move comes after US president Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that America would respond.

Iran’s top diplomat had said foreign military forces near the country’s territory “are at constant risk.” In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the US and Israel.

Mr Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters”. Both service members “are safe and uninjured,” he added.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Mr Trump wrote.

Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the strait is “thousands of miles away from US shores”.

“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” Mr Araghchi wrote. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.” The downing of the helicopter further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect.

Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defence units.

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

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