Live: US military launches strikes on Iran after helicopter downing

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Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:59pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:59pm

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By Lewis Wiseman

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Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 6:47pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 6:47pm

China and Russia call for restraint in the Middle East

By Lewis Wiseman

China says it is "deeply concerned" over the conflict in the Middle East and has urged against escalation after the US carried out strikes on Iran over the downing of a US helicopter.

"Various relevant parties should maintain calm and exercise restraint, stop intensifying the conflict and escalating the situation, take concrete measures to ease and cool down tensions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

Russia urged "restraint" in the Iran war after the recent escalation.

"We are extremely concerned about the new round of US-Iranian armed confrontation, which began with the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

"We call on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately cease military attacks."

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 6:24pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 6:24pm

Dangerous strikes in the Gulf, even as the 'ceasefire' persists

By Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran

This is one of those situations where there’s a ceasefire but there’s still fighting.

And it’s fighting on a significant scale.

Donald Trump set the scene for how he views the truce last week, when he was asked whether it was still in force despite another wave of Iranian strikes across the Gulf – including one attack that caused a lot of damage to Kuwait’s airport.

“I'd say, in that part of the world, ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner,” he said on Thursday.

That might seem a stretch in terms of the definition of a "ceasefire", and it might seem weird to be talking about air strikes and drone attacks in the same breath as a truce, but the Trump take kind of sums it up.

Clearly the situation has deteriorated dramatically since the president's comments, not only the exchange of fire between the US and Iran in the last few hours, but also the direct strikes between Israel and Iran earlier in the week.

But, and it's a significant but, we are not seeing a return to all-out war or the intensity of strikes the region experienced in March and early April.

Not yet, anyway.

What this does highlight is the danger of stalled negotiations and what happens when the players try to control the environment in which those talks are continuing.

Trump has repeatedly insisted there’s progress towards a deal, and an agreement will be announced within days – something he’s been saying for weeks now – but no breakthrough has appeared.

There’s no denying these talks are difficult. There are major issues neither side seems to be prepared to cede much ground on, such as control over the Strait of Hormuz and custody of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles.

In that vacuum, tensions grow. Missiles and drones are launched.

There is always going to be a great amount of anxiety that this incident, just like the direct attacks between Israel and Iran this week and the ongoing fighting in Lebanon, shows a deal remains out of reach and a return to war may be closer.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:56pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:56pm

Explosion heard in Qeshm, local media report

By Lewis Wiseman

Explosions have been heard in the Qeshm city area, Mehr News Agency says.

Citing local sources, the Iranian media outlet said the cause of the explosion on Qeshm island could be related to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Although the exact nature of these sounds is still unknown, given the volume of the sound, the source of the explosion may have been a relatively large distance from the city of Qeshm," the news agency reported.

Earlier today, the US military targeted parts of Qeshm and other cities along the Iranian coastline.

Qeshm island is in the Strait of Hormuz, off the Iranian mainland.

Key Event

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:17pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 5:17pm

IRGC says it destroyed a US Reaper drone

By Lewis Wiseman

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly shot down a US drone near the Strait of Hormuz today.

A MQ-9 Reaper drone was "destroyed" over the city of Jam in Iran's Bushehr Province, Iranian media reports, citing the IRGC.

"During the ongoing aerial engagements in the Strait of Hormuz, an MQ-9 drone that intended to approach and intervene in the battle zone from the skies over the northern Persian Gulf was struck and destroyed by fire," the IRGC reportedly said in a statement.

The US military has not confirmed the reports of one its drones being downed.

This type of drone is a medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle that can operate long flights.

It is capable of surveillance and precision strikes.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 4:50pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 4:50pm

Smartraveller reissues stay-away advice for countries in Middle East

By Lewis Wiseman

The Australian government has reiterated its advice to not travel to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.

It also asked Australians to "reconsider your need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia".

"The situation in the Middle East region remains volatile," Smartraveller said in a statement.

"Military strikes and reprisal attacks have occurred in some locations in the Middle East since 28 February, including recently.

"There remains a risk of further attacks and escalation.

"If strikes occur in your location, prioritise your safety, monitor events & follow local advice, including shelter in place instructions."

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 4:11pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 4:11pm

Sea drone rescues US helicopter crew

By Annika Burgess

Drones are usually associated with combat and surveillance, but the US has used an autonomous surface vessel in a first-of-its-kind rescue of two helicopter crew downed near the Strait of Hormuz.

The large, jet ski-looking sea drone skimmed across the water, “picked up” the crew and transported them to safety.

Read more about the sea drone and how uncrewed vehicles are increasingly involved in rescue missions across all war zones.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 3:42pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 3:42pm

Trump remains optimistic of a ceasefire

By Lewis Wiseman

Before he accused Iran of downing the US helicopter earlier today, Donald Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

But he did not say why he was optimistic about progress.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the US have taken hardline positions.

The US wants Iran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions.

It also wants frozen assets released before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:57pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:57pm

Iran says Gulf nations have 'moral responsibility' to prevent US and Israeli strikes

By Lewis Wiseman

Iran's foreign ministry says its neighbours in the Gulf have a "legal and moral responsibility" to prevent American and Israeli attacks.

In a statement, Iran's foreign ministry "reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran".

Key Event

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:28pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:28pm

PM worried about an escalation in the Iran war

By Nicholas McElroy

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is "very worried" about fresh US strikes on Iran.

Speaking earlier today he highlighted the difficulties for global markets responding to US President Donald Trump's repeated peace deal announcements.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:02pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 2:02pm

Latest strikes 'proportional' but leave an 'odd' ceasefire situation

By Lewis Wiseman

Today's air strikes by the US and Iran are "tit-for-tat", says Dr Malcolm Davis, senior defence analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"It has been like-for-like, proportional and quite controlled rather than essentially an unconstrained massive missile barrage that guarantees that both sides end up back in a large–scale war," he told News Channel.

"I think this could continue on for potentially another few rounds but I do not think it will necessarily escalate more dramatically. It is not guaranteed to escalate."

In terms of the very fragile ceasefire, Dr Davis says what we are seeing here is "odd".

"I've never seen a ceasefire where both sides are fighting one another nonstop. What you will see is potential for these attacks to [continue] at the same time Americans and the Iranians try to undertake this negotiation process," he said.

"The reality is the negotiations are, if anything, increasing the opportunities for Iran to extract concessions from the Americans."

Key Event

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:43pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:43pm

US hit almost 20 targets in Iran, official says

By Lewis Wiseman

A US military official says the US struck almost 20 targets in Iran in the latest round of attacks.

In a statement earlier today, US Central Command said the strikes were in "self-defence".

The official, speaking to the NY Times, said the US was not aware of any reports of harm to personnel or damage to military bases in the region.

They added that almost all missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:43pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:43pm

Here's the latest

By Brianna Morris-Grant

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:28pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:28pm

Iranian missile lands in Syria

By Lewis Wiseman

An Iranian missile has landed in a field near Damascus, Syria, according to local authorities.

It is not clear when the missile was fired or if it was intercepted or failed to reach its intended target.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:11pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:11pm

US strikes announced as Wall Street closed for the day

By Finance reporter David Chau

We've seen some early negative market reactions to the latest US strikes against Iran.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures was up 0.9% to $US89 per barrel by about 8:40am AEST.

When oil prices spike, it's normally a sign of traders feeling anxious again about the war dragging on for longer than they hope.

That's because it means the Strait of Hormuz (through which 20% of the world's oil and gas was transported) will remain shut for even longer.

It's also curious to note that US Central Command made its announcement about the Iran strikes just after 4pm, local time, which is 7am AEST.

It happens to be when Wall Street finishes its trading day.

That, of course, is no coincidence. It appears the Trump administration is timing its announcements with financial markets in mind (to avoid causing a panicked reaction).

You can read more on the ABC's markets blog.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:09pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 1:09pm

Jordanian military shoot down five Iranian missiles

By Lewis Wiseman

Jordanian armed forces say they intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran toward al-Azraq area in Jordan.

Earlier, the IRGC said it had targeted the US military base in the country.

The Jordanian military added that debris from the intercepts fell on Jordanian territory but caused no injuries or material damage.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:38pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:38pm

Where are the US military bases in the Middle East?

By Lewis Wiseman

Several reports are coming out of Iran that the IRGC is targeting US military bases in the region.

If you are wondering where the US has bases in the Middle East, this map should help you better understand.

Key Event

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:17pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:17pm

Iran targets US air base in Kuwait

By Lewis Wiseman

Reports are now coming from Iranian media that the IRGC has targeted the US Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait.

Minutes ago, the IRGC said it was targeting a US base in Jordan.

The Kuwaiti Army confirmed it was engaged with hostile drones.

"The General Command of the Kuwaiti Army announces that Kuwaiti air defense systems are currently intercepting hostile aerial targets in accordance with approved operational procedures," it said in a statement.

The Kuwaiti Army also asked everyone in the area to "adhere to the security and safety instructions".

Key Event

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:04pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:04pm

Iran targets US military base in Jordan

By Lewis Wiseman

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has targeted four targets at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan, Fars news agency reported.

Iranian media said long-range missiles were used in the attack.

The IRGC said they are ready for a "crushing and decisive" response to any further US attacks.

Earlier, Iran targeted a US military base in Bahrain.

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:03pm

Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 12:03pm

Air-raid siren sounded in Bahrain, interior ministry says

By Annabel Bowles

An air-raid alert has been issued in Bahrain, the Gulf country's interior ministry says.

"The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the ministry said on X.

Earlier Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had attacked a US Navy base in Bahrain with drones.