Donald Trump launched retaliatory strikes against Iran on Wednesday after Tehran shot down a US Apache helicopter near the restive Strait of Hormuz. The escalation comes amid months of tension in the Middle East following the launch of the US mega military campaign against Iran – Operation Epic Fury.US Forces Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces targeted Iranian air defense systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. US Air Force and Navy fighter planes carried out the attacks using precision-guided munitions.The military action was taken under the direction of Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump.Video footage circulating online shows US strikes striking an Iranian site, causing a huge explosion that lit up the night sky.According to the report of Al Jazeera, the sound of explosions was heard in the Iranian cities of Jask and Bandar Abbas.Earlier, Trump had warned Iran of retaliation after the helicopter was shot down. He later tried to downplay the incident, saying it was “no big deal” because the pilots had survived. Meanwhile, Iranian state media, citing military sources, reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had vowed a “decisive response” to “the renewed hostilities by the enemy under the pretext of the helicopter crash.”Tehran promised to retaliate, casting fresh doubts over efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire in the conflict. The war has already disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global energy prices soaring. Missile warning sirens also sounded in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, after Iran claimed to have targeted the island nation in retaliation.The US military said the attacks were focused on “air defenses, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites”. Iran confirmed the attacks near Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island but did not provide details about the extent of the damage.“This operation was a proportionate response to recent attacks on U.S. military and international commercial vessels transiting territorial waters,” CENTCOM said.Trump had earlier written on social media that Iran had shot down the helicopter while on patrol in the Strait of Hormuz and said the US should “respond to this attack, as necessary.”Iran’s top diplomat warned that foreign military forces operating near Iranian territory “are under constant threat” and promised to respond to the latest US attacks later.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on Twitter: “No attack or threat will be left unanswered.” “If you want to be safe, leave our area,” he said.The downing of the Apache helicopter and subsequent US attacks further strained the two-month ceasefire. The development came a day after the first exchange of gunfire between Iran and Israel since the fragile ceasefire came into effect. Iranian state television reported that at least two members of the country’s air-defense units were killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday.Since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28, the conflict has roiled the global economy, raising energy prices and increasing the cost of many essential goods, including food.Efforts to turn the April ceasefire into a permanent peace agreement have so far failed, especially as Israel has continued and expanded its military operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.