October 2, 2026
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on Iran following the downing of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran vowed to respond.
The strikes were “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” U.S. Central Command said on social media. Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald 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 U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
The downing of the helicopter and the strikes by the U.S. 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. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.
Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.
The Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Official statements said the crash is under investigation.
In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued two aviators at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their aircraft went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.
Trump said both service members “are safe and uninjured."
The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. He initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.
It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.
AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.
The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.
The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
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This story has been updated.
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