Daily on Defense: the U.S. and Iran trade retaliatory strikes, Hegseth goes to CENTCOM, Ukraine turns key road into “Highway of Death."

In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, President Trump said Iran shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter patrolling the Strait of Hormuz and vowed that the U.S. "must" respond.

In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

Trump has repeatedly said Iran wants to make a deal with him to end the war and that they have agreed to concessions.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m.