Iran strikes Kuwait and Bahrain after US attacks over helicopter crash

Iran launched airstrikes on Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday and said it targeted an airbase in Jordan hosting US forces, a claim which was not immediately acknowledged either by American or Jordanian officials.

Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for an earlier US strike, confirming hits around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.

The US attacks followed an Army helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz that President Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.

The Apache attack helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a US official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional but the crash is under investigation.

Two aviators were rescued by a drone boat. US officials said they are both safe and uninjured.

Before the resumption of strikes, Trump had expressed optimism over negotiations with Iran. Mediators have been working for weeks to reach a deal but both sides have taken hard-line positions.

Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

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