The United States and Iran exchanged military strikes on June 9-10, 2026, after a US Army Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, reigniting direct combat between the two nations amid fragile ceasefire negotiations.
The Apache helicopter crashed early Tuesday, June 9, after colliding with an Iranian drone while patrolling regional waters. Both crew members were rescued safely within two hours by an unmanned US Navy surface drone, according to military officials.
President Donald Trump blamed Iran for shooting down the helicopter and said the US “must, of necessity” respond. However, US officials acknowledged uncertainty about whether the Iranian drone had deliberately attacked, with one official telling CBS News it remained unclear whether the downing was intentional or an accident. The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Iran had not claimed responsibility for the downed aircraft.
The US military launched a series of retaliatory strikes targeting Iranian air defense systems, ground control stations, and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command said the strikes lasted around four hours and ended shortly before 9 p.m. ET on June 9. The US described its response as “a proportional response” for the helicopter downing.
In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck back early Wednesday, June 10. The IRGC claimed it launched strikes on 21 targets at US bases in the region, including facilities in Bahrain and Jordan. The IRGC said US strikes had damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks, and added the US had targeted the cities of Jask and Sirik, and Qeshm island in the Gulf. Jordan’s military said it shot down five missiles fired from Iran, while Bahrain reported that Iranian attacks had been repelled. US officials disputed the Iranian claims, with one official saying the IRGC’s assertions about conducting 21 successful attacks “are simply not true.”
The escalation threatens the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since April 2026. The US and Iran agreed to an initial two-week ceasefire on April 7-8 after more than five weeks of fighting that began in late February. The ceasefire was extended in May with tentative negotiations for a broader peace agreement, but talks have repeatedly faltered. Trump said on Tuesday that a deal could come within “two or three days” and that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after, yet the helicopter incident and subsequent strikes now jeopardize those efforts.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqai told reporters on Wednesday that the US was “damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire.” He said Iran needed to reassess the situation, adding that any diplomatic process required a minimum of stability. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a threat to the US, writing on social media that the country “will leave no attack or threat unanswered” and calling on foreign forces to “leave our region if you want to be safe.”
The flare-up follows a pattern of escalations over the past two months. Israel and Iran halted attacks on each other after exchanging fire over the weekend for the first time since the April truce, but Israeli forces carried out strikes across southern Lebanon on Tuesday, which Tehran had warned would trigger another wave of retaliatory strikes. Trump had publicly told both Israel and Iran to “immediately stop ‘shooting'” because they were jeopardizing negotiations.
Sources
- BBC — US strikes on Iranian military sites near Strait of Hormuz, IRGC retaliation on US bases in Bahrain and Jordan, crew rescue details, diplomatic impact on ceasefire talks
- AP News — US airstrikes in response to Apache helicopter downing, Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases
- Reuters — Iran strikes on US bases in Gulf and Jordan, US strikes lasting four hours, details of IRGC claims
- The New York Times — Crew rescue by sea drone, Apache helicopter crash details, US official disputes of Iranian claims
- Al Jazeera — Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, ongoing ceasefire negotiations
- CTV News — Apache helicopter collision with Iranian drone, crew rescue and condition
