President Donald Trump sits behind his desk in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., in this undated photo. Trump made comments Wednesday that raised the prospect of a broader escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict following an exchange of fire between the two nations’ militaries earlier this week. (The White House)
President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Iran would have to “pay the price” after an exchange of fire that began with the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter, raising the prospect of a broader escalation in the conflict.
His comments came after Iran said it had launched attacks against U.S. military bases across the Middle East in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets.
“The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!” the president said on Truth Social. “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”
In a subsequent phone call with Fox News, Trump said he “may keep going” with strikes against Iran, threatening to hit civilian infrastructure like power plants and bridges.
The government of Bahrain, which hosts a U.S. Navy base that is home to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet, sounded air sirens and warned residents to seek shelter Wednesday. Meanwhile, Kuwait said it was intercepting hostile aerial targets.
Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had targeted 21 American air and naval bases across the region, including the Bahrain installation and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which has been known to house F-35 fighter jets.
Tehran also claimed to have downed an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Persian Gulf.
Responding to a Stars and Stripes request about the attacks, a U.S. official said there was no “significant damage” and “no harm done to U.S. personnel.”
Before the strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that foreign military forces operating near the country were “at constant risk.”
Afterward, he vowed a response, saying Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
For weeks, U.S. officials have signaled that a peace deal is near, but talks have been stalled by intermittent fighting. The war began in late February with strikes by the U.S. and Israel that killed a number of Iran’s top leaders.
The renewed conflict began Monday when Iranian forces shot down an Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman.
Trump, speaking to Fox News, said the aircraft had been hit by an Iranian drone, which did not explode upon impact but caught fire and became lodged between the two pilots. The crew was able to take the helicopter into the sea where they were later rescued.
Hours later, CENTCOM conducted what it described as “self-defense strikes” against Iranian targets, calling them a “proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”
The strikes targeted air defense, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz using precision munitions from Air Force and Navy fighter jets, CENTCOM said.
The exchange threatened a return to broader hostilities and cast new doubt on efforts to extend a ceasefire that took effect in April.
Trump was not initially planning to retaliate for the downed helicopter and told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the incident “wasn’t a big deal” because the pilots were not seriously injured.
The newspaper reported that the president changed his mind after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine provided updated information about the downing of the helicopter and recommended military action.
U.S. officials have said the Apache was struck by a Shahed one-way attack drone. Investigators have not determined whether the helicopter was deliberately targeted or struck unintentionally in the congested airspace near the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported.
The helicopter crash led to what appears to be the first drone-assisted rescue conducted by the Navy and Task Force 59, a unit that focuses on integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with maritime operations for the 5th Fleet.
The unmanned surface vessel was a U.S. Navy Corsair, according to CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins. The task force first began fielding the drones in the region in late March.
According to manufacturer Saronic, the 24-foot boat can carry 1,000 pounds over 1,000 nautical miles at a top speed of about 40 miles per hour.
The drone picked up the downed helicopter crew and transported them to another location on the water, where they were then hoisted into a helicopter for further transport, Hawkins said.
U.S. forces have continued to operate in and around the Strait of Hormuz even after a ceasefire in the war with Iran took effect in April. Their mission includes defending commercial and military vessels from attacks and blockading Iranian ports.
