Washington DC [US], June 10 (ANI): US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces have begun launching self-defence strikes against Iran in response to what it described as 'unjustified Iranian aggression' following the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.

CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief as a 'proportional response' to the incident.

In a post on X on Tuesday (local time), the official account of US Central Command shared, 'U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defence strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief's direction, in response to yesterday's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.'

https://x.com/centcom/status/2064457103134343170?s=48

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that an Iranian strike claimed to have downed a US Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.

He added that both pilots were safe and uninjured, and warned that Washington would 'respond' to the attack.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote, 'I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP'

His remarks came amid a fresh escalation of hostilities involving strikes between Iran and Israel, including attacks on an Iranian petrochemical facility and reported targeting of Israeli military bases.

As this happened, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that foreign military forces operating near the Strait of Hormuz should leave the area or remain 'at constant risk'.

'Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire. To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave. We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too,' Araghchi said in a post on X. (ANI)