UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE

Washington launched its strikes on Tuesday at 5pm Eastern time — five hours after Trump announced on social media that Iran had shot down a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM described the operation as a 'proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression', targeting air defense installations, ground command posts and surveillance radar sites in the strait region.

CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC provided wall-to-wall coverage of the operation, reproducing CENTCOM's framing wholesale. Trump, interviewed by ABC News during the strikes, said: 'I think it's very important to respond. They shot down a helicopter, and we are responding as we speak.' He added that 'the response should be very strong, very powerful'. Former Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, interviewed by Bloomberg, called for limiting strikes to military sites directly linked to the attack to avoid escalation toward economic targets. A senior US official told CNN Washington 'does not believe the strikes will jeopardize the negotiations'.

Jordan confirmed it intercepted five Iranian missiles targeting a zone housing a US air base. Both Apache crew members were rescued by a naval drone — described as a world first by CENTCOM. This point attracted significant positive coverage, highlighting American technological efficiency. No major outlet interrogated the War Powers Act or constitutional authorization for the use of force.