The United States announced the launch of strikes on Iran on Tuesday, in response to the Islamic Republic shooting down an American Apache helicopter on Monday, hours after US President Donald Trump confirmed that negotiators had reached the final stages of talks aimed at reaching an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said in a post on the “This mission is a proportionate response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” she added.
It was reported that explosions were heard in eastern Hormozgan province.
The location of the explosions is not yet clear, but local sources reported the presence of defensive activities in some parts of the governorate.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of shooting down the American helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, “I was just informed by our great military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our advanced Apache helicopters during a patrol over the Strait of Hormuz. It was being flown by two pilots, and they are safe and uninjured.”
After Centcom’s announcement, Trump told ABC News, “It’s a response to what they did… to our helicopter last night, and I think the response has to be very strong, very strong, and this response is.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi indicated on Tuesday that foreign forces deployed in the region are always at risk of being caught in the crossfire.
Araqchi said in a post on the X platform, “The Strait of Hormuz is not international waters, but rather shared between Iran and Oman, and is located thousands of miles from the American coast.”
He added, “Our powerful armed forces are on constant alert for any violation of Iran’s airspace, territory, or waters. Foreign forces deployed near our lands are always at risk of falling victim to human errors, accidental accidents, or being caught in the crossfire.”
Trump said early Tuesday after attending an NBA final, “We are in the final stages of reaching an agreement that will be very good,” adding that its conclusion “will take two or three days.”
Trump has previously spoken repeatedly about the imminent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, but diplomatic efforts have not yet resulted in any agreement that would put a final end to the war that began more than 100 days ago with an American-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic.
Iran insists that stopping the war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah be part of the understanding with Washington, while the Hebrew state wants to separate the two tracks, and is committed to continuing its military operations against the party.
In a statement that preceded Trump’s latest position, Iranian Shura Council Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X, “We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages much more fluently.”
The official who leads Tehran’s negotiating delegation with Washington in the discussions being mediated by Islamabad added, “Break on your commitments, and we will move to the language we are good at speaking.”
Iran fired missiles at Israel in response to Israel’s bombing of the southern suburb of Beirut, the party’s stronghold, on Sunday. In response, Israel launched attacks on Iran despite American pressure to calm down.
After that, Iran launched another missile salvo before announcing the cessation of military operations. Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the fire on the Iranian front had been “contained.”
Iran threatened that it would attack Israel again if it continued its strikes in Lebanon, while Israel vowed a strong response if Iran attacked it again.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz pledged to continue the military campaign against Hezbollah, and stressed on Monday that the army would strike the southern suburbs in response to any attack on northern Israel.
Trump urged Israel and Iran to cease exchanging fire, in light of reports of increasing disagreements between him and the Israeli Prime Minister.
But Netanyahu said in a televised speech that he informed Trump that “Israel has the full right to defend itself, and we exercise this right whenever necessary,” adding, “If Iran makes the mistake of resuming attacks on us, we will respond with full force.”
Axios reported that Israel was about to carry out major strikes, before Trump called Netanyahu and asked him to calm down. “I told him, ‘You have to be careful, otherwise you will find yourself alone,'” the website quoted Trump as saying.
US Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News on Monday that despite the common interests between the two allied countries, their positions do not always match.
– Bloody strikes in Lebanon –
Iran fired about 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, while Israel targeted military sites inside the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state television announced on Tuesday that at least two members of the army’s air defense forces were killed “while performing their duty to defend the country’s airspace during the Zionist entity’s aggression yesterday (Monday).”
No human casualties were recorded in Israel in the recent escalation with Iran. However, the Hebrew state’s strikes on Lebanon continue to claim more victims.
At night, three people were killed in an Israeli raid near the city of Tire in southern Lebanon, according to what the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported.
At least eight people were killed in a previous raid on Tyre, with Israel issuing an ultimatum to evacuate the entire city, including the Christian neighborhood, which remained untouched by the strikes, while the Hebrew state also continued its raids on large areas in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported, “The Israeli enemy’s raid on the Masaken neighborhood in the city of Tyre led to an initial toll of 8 martyrs and 32 wounded.”
The official National News Agency reported a raid on the area shortly after nine in the morning (06:00 GMT), just before the Israeli army spokesman published on the X platform a warning to evacuate the entire city.
After that, an Agence France-Presse photographer saw in pictures residents fleeing in large numbers from the city, especially from the Christian Quarter. Residents packed their belongings and put them in cars ready to leave.
Also, the Israeli army announced that its forces killed an armed man who infiltrated from Lebanon after he opened fire on them.
– Relative calm in Tehran –
In Tehran, flights resumed at Imam Khomeini International Airport, while planes carrying pilgrims from Saudi Arabia landed, according to what Iranian news agencies reported early Tuesday morning.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday in light of Trump’s statements about an imminent agreement. At approximately 16:30 GMT, the price of a barrel of Brent North Sea oil had lost more than four percent, recording $90.23, while West Texas Intermediate crude had lost 5.10%, reaching $86.64.
The exchange of bombing between Iran and Israel came at a moment when diplomatic efforts to end the conflict were intensifying.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei warned on Monday that the diplomatic track would be affected by the escalation, even though “diplomatic consultations continue under all circumstances.”
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi visited Tehran to deliver a message to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. He returned to his country, according to an official Pakistani source.
