The United States military said Wednesday evening that it has begun its next wave of self-defense strikes on Iran amid tensions over the downing of an American helicopter earlier this week.

The move is the second wave of strikes on the Middle Eastern country after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran on Tuesday evening in response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter. 

"U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction," CENTCOM said on X. "The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression."

The strikes come after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump both warned Iran that the missiles were coming. 

The Apache helicopter was downed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The crew was successfully rescued and no one was harmed in the crash. 

The downed aircraft is the first Apache helicopter known to be lost in the conflict with Iran. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.