US Airstrike Strikes Iranian Wedding, Killing 5 Including Child and Injuring More Than 50

A US airstrike hit a house in southern Iran where a wedding celebration was underway, killing at least five people, including a four-year-old child, and injuring more than 50 others, Iranian authorities said.

The attack took place in Kuhestak, in Sirik County of Hormozgan province, close to the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said the strike targeted a residential property during the wedding gathering, resulting in heavy casualties among civilians.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, describing it as part of a broader pattern of civilian deaths since the latest escalation between Tehran and Washington.

“This cruelty cannot be separated from the chain of atrocities that preceded it,” an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, referring to other deadly incidents, including a US strike on a girls’ school in Minab. Iranian authorities have said that attack killed 160 people on the first day of the current conflict.

The number of casualties in the wedding strike remained subject to change as rescue and assessment operations continued. Iranian authorities reported at least five deaths and more than 50 injuries, while Reuters cited reports putting the number of wounded as high as 68.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB released footage showing the aftermath of the strike and emergency response at the site. Iran’s embassy in India also condemned the attack, calling it another crime by the US military and saying that the strike hit a wedding ceremony in Bandar Kuhestak.

The Pentagon has not released an official finding on the reported Minab school strike. Reuters, citing a source, previously reported that the attack may have involved the use of outdated targeting information by the US military.

Fresh US-Iran Fighting Intensifies

The wedding strike came as the US and Iran entered another intense phase of hostilities after weeks of relative calm.

US Central Command said American forces had carried out strikes on targets associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The US military said the targets included air defence systems, radar sites, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications infrastructure.

Washington accused Iran of attempting to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks against US forces in the region.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against US military positions. The IRGC claimed it had attacked American facilities in Iraq and Jordan and inflicted casualties on US personnel, but US officials told Reuters that initial assessments showed no American casualties.

Jordan said its air-defence systems responded to 13 ballistic missiles that entered its airspace, intercepting 10 of them, while three landed in remote areas. Bahrain also reported intercepting Iranian drones.

Iranian media separately reported missile and drone attacks by IRGC ground forces on US bases in Erbil, northern Iraq. The claims of American casualties were not independently verified.

The renewed fighting has heightened concerns about the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important routes for oil shipments. Oil prices moved higher after the latest attacks as markets weighed the possibility of further disruption to energy supplies.