by Misty Severi
The United States military said Wednesday evening that it has begun its next wave of self-defense strikes on Iran amid tensions over the downing of an American helicopter earlier this week.
The move is the second wave of strikes on the Middle Eastern country after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran on Tuesday evening in response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter.
“U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said on X. “The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
The strikes come after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump both warned Iran that the missiles were coming.
The Apache helicopter was downed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The crew was successfully rescued and no one was harmed in the crash.
The downed aircraft is the first Apache helicopter known to be lost in the conflict with Iran.
Giving an update on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said on Truth Social that more than 100 million barrels of oil made it through the strait on Wednesday.
“More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait. This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran. Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran!” he said.
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
