June 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. military said it launched new strikes against Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump vowed to respond to the downing of a U.S. Apache attack helicopter overnight, in the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran threatening a fragile ceasefire.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement that “self-defense strikes” started at 5 p.m. Washington time at Trump’s direction.
“The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” Central Command said in a statement.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a one-way Iranian attack drone brought down the Apache. Central Command has said the two crew members were rescued by a sea drone, in a first, and are in stable condition.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington and Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Ryan Patrick Jones and Daniel Wallis)