US Launches Strikes on Iran in Response to Downing of Helicopter

Trump had earlier vowed to retaliate, hours after he announced negotiations with Tehran were in their ‘final throes.’

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L), and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) listen to President Donald Trump speak during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on May 27, 2026. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The United States launched retaliatory strikes against Iran on June 9 after President Donald Trump accused Iran of downing a U.S. attack helicopter a day earlier.

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