US Launches ‘Proportional’ Attacks Against Iran in Payback for ‘Unjustified’ Downing of Army Helicopter
US military on Tuesday unleashed strikes against Iran in retaliation for its “unjustified” downing of an American military helicopter and its two pilots, US Central Command said Tuesday.
President Trump ordered the “proportional” strikes after determining Iran on Monday shot down a US Apache attack helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving a two-month-old cease-fire hanging by a thread.
Trump, however, signaled he wasn’t seeking a return to full-scale war and downplayed the helicopter attack – telling the Wall Street Journal that it “wasn’t a big deal” and “the pilot is fine.”
The military response also was billed as measured, with CENTCOM describing the Tuesday evening mission as “self-defense strikes.”
“CENTCOM 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 US Army Apache helicopter,” the combatant command said Tuesday. (Read more from “US Launches ‘Proportional’ Attacks Against Iran in Payback for ‘Unjustified’ Downing of Army Helicopter” HERE)
