{"text":[[{"start":14.35,"text":"The US and Iran exchanged fire early on Wednesday following the downing of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, with the US hitting targets near the strategic waterway and the Islamic republic retaliating with regional strikes targeting Jordan and Bahrain. "}],[{"start":29.7,"text":"The latest exchanges marked another test of the fragile ceasefire between the adversaries and came hours after Donald Trump vowed to respond to the downing of the Apache helicopter, which had been patrolling the contested waterway. "}],[{"start":42.8,"text":"US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it had “completed self-defense strikes” against Iran, hitting “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites”. "}],[{"start":56.199999999999996,"text":"“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” it said. "}],[{"start":64.3,"text":"Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that the country’s naval forces carried out a drone attack against the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and hit a US air base in Jordan with long-range, solid-fuel missiles in response to Washington’s “malicious act”."}],[{"start":80.55,"text":"The guards said the attacks “targeted and destroyed . . . shelters housing F-35 fighter jets” at a US military air base and command-and-control centre in Azraq in Jordan."}],[{"start":92.35,"text":"The guards threatened that “even heavier responses are forthcoming” should the exchange of fire continue. They added that the US attacks had hit several locations in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm islands, damaging telecommunications and water infrastructure."}],[{"start":106.75,"text":"A US official denied that a base in Jordan had been hit, but said that Bahrain and Kuwait had been “targeted” by “multiple missiles and drones” from Iran. Iran has not confirmed any attack on Kuwait."}],[{"start":119.9,"text":"There were “no indications Iran was successful in striking intended targets”, the official said, adding that no injuries to US personnel were reported."}],[{"start":128.8,"text":"Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Wednesday, with Brent crude up about 0.8 per cent at $92.20 a barrel."}],[{"start":137.60000000000002,"text":"Hours before the helicopter was shot down near the coast of Oman, the US president had intervened to halt an escalatory cycle of tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and Israel that threatened to reignite a full-blown war in the Middle East. "}],[{"start":151.70000000000002,"text":"He has repeatedly said Washington and Tehran were closing in on a deal to extend their April 8 ceasefire, reopen the strait and set a framework for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. "}],[{"start":162.9,"text":"But there is a risk the diplomatic push could be jeopardised by the downing of the Apache and the US retaliation, which began around 5pm Eastern US time on Tuesday and was declared finished four hours later. Iranian and American forces have traded fire in and around the strait on multiple occasions since the fragile truce took hold without returning to full-blown war. "}],[{"start":185.75,"text":"Centcom said two crew members had been rescued from the downed Apache and were in stable condition."}],[{"start":191.4,"text":"Iran has slowed the flow of traffic through the strait — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas typically passes — to a trickle since the US and Israel launched their war against the Islamic republic on February 28. That has triggered the worst global energy crisis in decades, pushing up prices at American petrol pumps ahead of the critical midterm elections in November. The US Navy has also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports."}],[{"start":217.65,"text":"The clashes between Iran and Israel erupted on Sunday after the Islamic republic launched missiles in retaliation for Israeli strikes on a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hizbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. "}],[{"start":232.25,"text":"Israel responded by conducting what it said was a “large-scale strike” on “strategic defence systems” in Iran and bombing several targets at a petrochemical plant in Mahshahr in southern Iran. "}],[{"start":244.65,"text":"But both sides halted their fire after Trump told them to stop shooting and called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pressuring him to end the strikes on Iran. "}],[{"start":253.45000000000002,"text":"The Israeli-Hizbollah conflict has become another issue complicating diplomatic efforts to seal a deal between the US and Iran, as Tehran insists it should be part of a broader ceasefire agreement. "}],[{"start":265.8,"text":"Israel continued striking southern Lebanon on Tuesday, including bombing the historic port city of Tyre, killing at least eight people, the Lebanese health ministry said. "}],[{"start":275.7,"text":"Hizbollah, which triggered the latest conflict by firing across the border after the Iran war erupted in February, continued to battle Israeli troops inside Lebanon."}],[{"start":292.54999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781068216_1417.mp3"}