Iran’s deputy foreign minister told Al Jazeera that a US Apache helicopter that went down over the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday was not deliberately targeted by Iran.
Kazem Gharibabadi said such events could happen unintentionally because of the tense military situation in the area.
"Iran was not behind the attack. Such incidents may occur unintentionally because of the tense atmosphere in the Strait of Hormuz. There was no deliberate targeting by Iran of the US helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
Israel carried out airstrikes on several towns in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, while artillery shelling hit villages in the western Tyre district, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
US Central Command said on Tuesday its forces began carrying out “self-defense strikes” against Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, calling the operation a proportional response to the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.
The US airstrikes targeted Iran’s Sirik and Jask naval bases, an air defense position in Bandar Abbas, coastal missile batteries in Minab and Qeshm, and the port of Qeshm, according to unofficial reports by local media in Hormozgan province.
US military forces struck several Iranian air defense batteries and radar systems around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a senior US official cited by Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
No further details were immediately available regarding the locations targeted or the extent of the damage.
A doctor convicted in Matthew Perry’s ketamine death case made a stunning argument in a bid to shorten hisprison sentence— claiming he was never really a physician to begin with.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia is urging a federal appeals court to overturn his 30-month sentence.AP
Dr. Salvador Plasencia is urging a federal appeals court to overturn his 30-month sentence, saying the judge unfairly punished him for abusing his role as a doctor when, in reality, he acted more like a ketamine supplier than a medical professional, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Plasencia claims Perry was not seeking legitimate medical treatment from him, but rather, was looking for a reliable source of ketamine.
His lawyers argue he should not have been sentenced as a doctor betraying a patient’s trust. Instead, they say his actions were more like those of a drug dealer than a medical professional.
Perry was 54 years old when he died in October 2023.Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/MEGA
The appeal repeatedly compares Plasencia’s conduct to that of the other defendants caught up in the deadly scandal, maintaining his role was more akin to a supplier than a doctor providing treatment.
Plasencia is also challenging other parts of his sentence. His lawyers claim the court improperly counted allegations that he altered records during the investigation, causing unfair double-counting.
Perry starred as Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom ”Friends” for its entire 10-season run from 1994 to 2004.
He also claims he was punished more harshly than fellow defendants Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming, calling the sentencing disparities unfair, according to the outlet.
Plasencia previously pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Prosecutors alleged he supplied ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to the actor’s death.
While he isn’t disputing his guilt in the case, Plasencia contends that he shouldn’t have received a tougher sentence than those who were also found guilty of supplying ketamine to the late “Friends” star.
