The US attacked Iran on Tuesday evening. According to the US military, this was a self-defense action and a response to the crash of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. US President Donald Trump then said that the US felt compelled to respond.
According to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, American attacks along Iran’s southern coast have now stopped. “The situation is now reportedly calm again,” IRIB said on Telegram.
News site Axios quotes a US official as saying the attacks were just a warning and did not jeopardize negotiations between the United States and Iran. However, Tehran is threatening retaliation.
“Our armed forces will not leave any attack or threat unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe. The history of the Persian Gulf contains many chapters about the tragic fate of invaders.”
Helicopter crashed
On Monday night, an American Apache helicopter crashed over the Strait of Hormuz. It was initially unclear what the circumstances of the incident were. However, Trump pointed to Iran as responsible.
He said on Truth Social that Iran shot down the Apache while it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz. Although no injuries were reported, the US felt ‘compelled’ to respond. Trump did not say at the time what he meant by that.
Violence in the Middle East
Violence in the Middle East has flared up in recent days as Israel and Iran carried out retaliatory attacks on each other. The fragile ceasefire currently being negotiated between the US and Iran is in danger of being jeopardized now that the US has decided to retaliate with force for the helicopter incident.
Sirik
According to Al Jazeera, citing Mehr news agency, residents and sources in the port of Sirik and surrounding villages heard several explosions this evening. Iranian media confirm this.