On June 9, the US struck Iranian air defense facilities, command posts, and radar stations near the Strait of Hormuz.
This was reported by the US Central Command.
The command said that this was a US response to Iranʼs downing of an AH-64 Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as "recent attacks on US troops and international merchant vessels transiting regional waters".
In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also reported the launch of missiles and drones at US military facilities in the Middle East, Reuters reported. Bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait were hit.
Kuwait reported successful interception of air targets by its air defense forces, Al Jazeera reports. Jordanian military announced the destruction of five missiles launched from Iranian territory. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain.
The day before, off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran shot down an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Both crew members were rescued. Later, the US President Donald Trump said that the aircraft was shot down by Iran, and promised a response. Tehran has not officially claimed responsibility for the incident.
Apache helicopters, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets have been used by the US military to prevent Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has already shot down nearly 30 Reaper drones, but the US has never lost its AH-64 Apache attack helicopters before.
War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries where US bases are located, and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels per day.
On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.
On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran reported that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day, Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.
The US and Iran have been exchanging blows periodically in recent weeks, but neither side has claimed to have violated the ceasefire, which remains in effect. In particular, on June 3, Iranian drones struck an airport in Kuwait, killing one person and suspending commercial flights. Iran said it struck a US base in Kuwait.
On the night of June 8, Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles for the first time since April — in response to Israelʼs attack on Beirut, Lebanon, which Tehran explained as a response to a strike by the Lebanese pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.