US military hits Iranian targets around Strait of Hormuz after downing of helicopter

Anti-Israel candidate who long had a Nazi tattoo wins Democratic Senate primary in Maine

The empty stage awaits the arrival of Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner at his Democratic primary election event on June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images/AFP)

Graham Platner has been declared the winner of the Maine Democratic primary and will now face off in the general election against longtime US Senator Susan Collins.

The race pits Collins, a veteran lawmaker and the only Republican senator from New England, against an anti-Israel progressive with no experience in high office. Platner, a brash political newcomer who has energized crowds, has faced a series of controversies that the GOP will focus on, including long having a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest and allegations of abuse.

An oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, Platner has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state.

He was endorsed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who campaigned with him in the run-up to the primary. He has said he plans to focus on economic issues such as housing and healthcare, after making attacks on the pro-Israel American Jewish lobby group AIPAC a key element of his primary campaign.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain after American strikes

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones in response to US strikes on areas in southern Iran, adding that clashes are continuing.

In a statement, the IRGC warns of “a more severe response” if what it describes as US “aggression” continues.

“The warmongering US regime attacked several points in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm early this morning under false pretexts, damaging a telecommunications mast in Sirik and destroying two water tanks in the city,” the IRGC says in a statement quoted by Iranian media.

US has completed retaliatory strikes against Iran, CENTCOM says

The US military has completed strikes against Iranian air defense, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz that were launched in retaliation for the downing of a US helicopter, US Central Command says in a statement.

“US forces remain vigilant and postured to defend against unjustified Iranian aggression,” the statement adds.

Iranian media reports fresh explosions near Strait of Hormuz, including in Bandar Abbas

Iranian media outlets report fresh attacks in areas near the Strait of Hormuz, as US forces carry out what President Donald Trump has described as retaliatory strikes over a downed helicopter.

Explosions have been heard on Qeshm Island and in the port city of Bandar Abbas on Iran’s southern coast, the Mehr and Fars news agencies post on Telegram.

‘Leave no attack unanswered’: Iranian FM issues threat after US strikes in response to downing of helicopter

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatens the United States after the US carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran over the downing of a military helicopter.

“Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination,” Araghchi writes on X. “Our powerful armed forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”

“Leave our region if you want to be safe,” he continues. “History of the Persian Gulf has many chapters on dire fates of intruding outsiders.”

US strikes reportedly hit Iranian air defenses and radars around Strait of Hormuz

The US military’s retaliatory attacks struck several Iranian air defense and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reports, citing a US official.

Iranian media reports explosions on Hormuz island and surrounding province

Sounds of explosions are heard in eastern parts of Iran’s Hormozgan province, Fars news agency reports as the US Central Command says its forces began launching “self-defense” strikes against Iran in response to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.

Iranian state media also says a projectile hit had been confirmed in Sirik, a city in Hormozgan, and that that explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, which is also part of the province.

US military strikes Iran after downing of helicopter: ‘A proportional response’

Illustrative: An Apache helicopter flies as soldiers take part in a US-led military exercise in Petrochori, northern Greece, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The American military says it has launched strikes on Iran in response to the downing of an army helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, the US Central Command says it launched “self-defense strikes against Iran,” at the orders of US President Donald Trump, “in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.”

“The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” CENTCOM says.

IDF says it downed Hezbollah rocket fired at troops in south Lebanon, triggering early warning in Kiryat Shmona

One rocket launched by Hezbollah at troops in southern Lebanon a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

The launch triggered an early warning in the Kiryat Shmona area, though no sirens sounded.

‘Does he want to continue?’ Trump muses about whether Netanyahu will run for reelection

US President Donald Trump (right) speaks to reporters as he greets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump questions whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will run in elections due to take place in several months, telling ABC the longtime premier is a “wartime prime minister” who Trump says has had an “amazing career.”

Trump makes the comments to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl during an interview about the Iran war.

“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career,” Trump says, according to a post on X by Karl. “Does he want to continue? Because, you know he’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister.”

Trump adds that he is a “wartime president.”

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, has given no indication at all that he will opt out of this year’s election and is presumed in Israel to be standing for reelection.

He is on a campaign footing even as the date of the vote, which must take place by October 27, has yet to be officially set.

Earlier today, he shared a campaign ad from his Likud party on X.