US launched 'self-defense' strikes against Iran following downed helicopter
The Middle East has been plunged into a fresh cycle of direct military confrontation as the United States launched 'self-defense strikes' against Iran, hours after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of shooting down a highly sophisticated US Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. This punitive action by the US Central Command, which targeted nearly 20 Iranian air defense, radar, and ground control sites, triggered immediate, wide-ranging retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Iran against US military bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait early Wednesday local time. The incident dangerously escalates an already volatile region, casting a dark shadow over fragile diplomatic efforts.












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