US, Iran exchange strikes Apache crash, putting peace effort in peril

Updated June 10, 2026 — 4:38pm,first published June 10, 2026 — 3:45am

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The United States launched airstrikes against Iran early on Wednesday after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter, prompting new attacks from Iran and further widening the retaliatory strikes that threaten to derail efforts to end the war.

In response, Iran launched attacks on sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defences in response. Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting American forces.

The US attacks were the first American strikes on Iran since the ceasefire came into effect on April 8.

Since the US and Israel started the war with strikes on Iran on February 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to end the conflict permanently, particularly as Israel intensifies its military campaign against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the US strikes further strained the ceasefire, a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect.

Iranian state television said on Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defence units.

Fighter jets from the US Air Force and Navy carried out strikes in Iran, the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said, targeting “air defence, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites”. Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.

“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said.

Meanwhile, Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near its territory were “at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a fresh response to the latest US strikes.

Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”

Jordan said on Wednesday it shot down five incoming missiles launched by Iran, which Iran said targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which has hosted American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.

Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency carried the statement from its military, which added that there were no injuries in the attack and that explosives experts had