Tehran launches retaliatory attacks on US bases following strikes on Iran

US forces carried out strikes against Iran on Wednesday in what President Donald Trump said was retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter by the Islamic Republic a day earlier. Kuwait's military said Wednesday its air defences were engaging "hostile aerial targets", as the United States and Iran traded attacks after the downing of an American helicopter. "The General Staff of the Army announces that Kuwaiti air defence systems are currently engaging hostile aerial targets in accordance with established operational procedures," the Kuwaiti army posted on X, without specifying their origin. Iran had said it targeted the nation to retaliate over American airstrikes earlier Wednesday morning, also claiming attacks targeting Bahrain and Jordan. Tehran had vowed to respond after the US launched airstrikes on Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said on X that it had "completed self-defense strikes against Iran." "CENTCOM forces struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions from US Air Force and Navy fighter jets," the post said. “The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said. Trump said earlier in a social media post that Iran had shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the strait and declared that the US “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe.” The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the strikes by the US military further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Before he accused Iran of downing the US helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, but he didn't say why there was reason for optimism.