U.S. and Iran Clash Again After Helicopter Crash... Aim to End the Conflict Before November

A photo released by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on the 12th of last month shows aircraft taking off from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The image was taken on the 9th of last month and is believed to have been shot in waters near Iran. AFP Yonhap News Agency [The Financial News] Despite the ceasefire, the U. S. and Iran, which have continued to clash in localized skirmishes since last month, exchanged missiles again on the 10th (local time), carrying out retaliatory strikes. A U. S. official stressed that the latest confrontation was limited and did not break the ceasefire. CENTCOM, which is in charge of U.
S. strikes on Iran, said in a post on X on the 9th that it had "completed the self-defense airstrikes against Iran. " About four hours earlier, CENTCOM had written on X that, "in accordance with the commander in chief's orders, we began self-defense airstrikes against Iran at 5 p. m. to respond to yesterday's crash involving a U. S. Army Apache helicopter. " The incident began at 3 a. m.
on the 9th, Iran time, when an AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in waters near Oman. The U. S. claimed that an Iranian suicide drone collided with the helicopter. U. S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media shortly after the incident, saying that "both pilots are safe," but added that "the U. S. must nevertheless respond to this attack.
" According to Axios, the U. S. military carried out three rounds of strikes on air defenses, radar sites, artillery positions, and military bases in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were reported in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island. Trump reportedly told an ABC Broadcasting reporter by phone when the airstrikes began, "I believe the response has to be very strong and forceful. This is exactly that. " An Iranian military official said on state television on the 9th that "there has been no military operation in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours," denying that the helicopter had been attacked. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also told Al Jazeera that day that, regarding the Apache incident, "Iran was not behind it, and it appears to have been an unintentional event.
" While insisting on its innocence, Iran moved quickly to retaliate. In a statement on the 10th, the IRGC said that two communication towers and two water tanks were damaged on Qeshm Island. It then said that it had "launched a drone attack on the U. S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain at 2:30 a. m. " In a separate statement that day, the IRGC claimed it had "struck 21 targets at U. S.
Air Force and Navy bases in the region and shot down one MQ-9 Reaper drone. " It also claimed that it had "destroyed four key targets, including a U. S. F-35 fighter hangar and a command-and-control facility in Al-Azraq, Jordan, using long-range solid-fuel missiles. " The IRGC said it had also struck the U. S. Air Base Ali Al Salem in Kuwait. A U.
S. military official told The New York Times that "the claim that the IRGC attacked U. S. bases 21 times is completely false. " A U. S. government official who spoke to CNN said the latest airstrikes on Iran were meant "more as a warning than an escalation," adding that "the U. S.
does not believe the attack will disrupt negotiations to end the war. " Since the April 8 ceasefire, the U. S. has continued to clash with Iran even while pursuing talks to end the conflict. In a CBS Broadcasting interview released on the day of the latest confrontation, U. S. Vice President JD Vance said an agreement with Iran could be reached "next week, or it could be months from now," and argued that a deal with Iran could "definitely" be reached before the November midterm elections. An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter photographed in Kievo, Poland, on the 28th of last month.
A photo released by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on the 12th of last month shows aircraft taking off from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The image was taken on the 9th of last month and is believed to have been shot in waters near Iran. AFP Yonhap News Agency [The Financial News] Despite the ceasefire, the U. S. and Iran, which have continued to clash in localized skirmishes since last month, exchanged missiles again on the 10th (local time), carrying out retaliatory strikes. A U. S. official stressed that the latest confrontation was limited and did not break the ceasefire. CENTCOM, which is in charge of U.A photo released by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on the 12th of last month shows aircraft taking off from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The image was taken on the 9th of last month and is believed to have been shot in waters near Iran. AFP Yonhap News Agency [The Financial News] Despite the ceasefire, the U. S. and Iran, which have continued to clash in localized skirmishes since last month, exchanged missiles again on the 10th (local time), carrying out retaliatory strikes. A U. S. official stressed that the latest confrontation was limited and did not break the ceasefire. CENTCOM, which is in charge of U.
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter