Iran has accused the United States of bombing a home during a wedding party in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran, killing at least five people, including a child.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the “brutal” attack targeted a residential house in Kuhestak city, in Sirik County, early Wednesday. State-run Press TV reported at least five deaths.
Sirik County Governor Reza Shahidiyan later told state television IRIB that at least 63 people were injured, 50 of them women and children. All the injured were transported to a hospital in nearby Minab city and are in stable condition.
Semi-official Fars news agency quoted a surviving child from the blast. The child said: “We were on our way to a wedding. Before arriving, we heard the sound of fighter jets. As we arrived, an explosion occurred. It was very violent. Bricks, stones, and cement hit my face and head, and many others were injured.” The child added that “everyone was just civilians.”
The news came as the US military announced a new wave of strikes against “Iranian military targets,” saying it was responding to attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeting US soldiers. The US said it hit air defense systems, radars, naval assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communication sites.
The strikes followed a weekend gunfight, the first since July and the most significant escalation since then. They occur amid ongoing tension around the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the start of the war, driving up global energy prices.
Iran's spokesman Baghaei vowed to respond to US attacks. He said: “This cruelty cannot be separated from the series of previous brutal actions,” including a US strike on an elementary school in Minab city on February 28 that killed over 150 people, mostly children, and an airstrike on a sports hall in Lamerd city the same day that killed at least 21 people.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported additional explosions in the south, including in Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and Qeshm Island. Iran's military said it retaliated with attacks on US bases in Jordan and Bahrain. Kuwait also reported intercepting missiles. The IRGC claimed it shot down a US MQ-9 drone with a new air defense system.
