US Airstrike Hits Wedding in Southern Iran, Killing 4 and Wounding Over 60

The city of Kuhestak, in Sirik County in Hormozgan province, southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, came under multiple US military airstrikes overnight. According to local sources and authorities, a wedding was taking place in a residential building in the area when it was hit.

On Wednesday, the Governor's Office of Hormozgan province confirmed the identities of the four victims killed, including a 4-year-old boy, Amir Ali Karimi; Mohammad Malahi, 16; Kolsoum Malahi, 43; and Zarkhatoun Taheri, 43. More than 60 others were wounded, some seriously.

US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said they were aware of reports of civilian casualties “originating from Iranian state media.” Hawkins stated: “The US military never targets civilians, unlike Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

Though operational details of the airstrike remain unclear, numerous videos, photographs, eyewitness accounts, and official reports indicate that several missiles or munitions struck Kuhestak, some with deadly consequences.

Footage showed several munitions striking and destroying a telecommunications tower near the coast. Some residents believed drones were used. Based on debris found in Kuhestak, defense experts suggest the weapon may have been a variant of the Boeing-made AGM-84K SLAM-ER cruise missile, described as having high precision strike capability.

Remote footage captured Wednesday morning shows at least one munition directly hitting the roof of the building where the wedding was held. Other videos published by residents and state media show part of the building destroyed, debris scattered inside, and widespread power outages. Women's and children's sandals were strewn about. Several nearby residential buildings also sustained damage.

An Iranian state television reporter said three US missiles were used, one of which penetrated the roof and created a 1.5-meter-deep crater in the floor. The owner of the targeted building, a man named Ali Malahi, told state television that those inside were all civilians attending his daughter's wedding.

Video from a regional hospital showed wounded children and families receiving medical care. A young man wounded in the attack recounted: “Many young children and women were horribly wounded.” A woman with bloodied hands said in a video that she was at the scene and confirmed those attacked were civilians. “This house is not near any military base,” she said, adding that the weapon seemed to be aimed directly at the building.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said it had fully documented the incident and sent a letter to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting legal accountability for those responsible for this “grave” attack.

Other Attacks on Civilians

Iran's Foreign Ministry argued that the airstrikes on Kuhestak have added to the “catalog of atrocities against the Iranian people” perpetrated by the US. Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on social media platform X: “This cruelty cannot be separated from the chain of previous atrocities in Minab, Lamerd, Qeshm, and elsewhere, as well as airstrikes on military targets concealed by deceptive justifications. More dangerous than the bomb is the normalization of bombing; more dangerous than silence is turning silence into legitimization.”

In Minab, also in Hormozgan province, a February 28 airstrike—the first day of the war—destroyed much of an elementary school packed with children, killing around 170 people, mostly students, teachers, and parents. Despite evidence suggesting US Tomahawk missiles were used, the US military has refused to release investigation results. CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper asserted the school was situated on “an operational IRGC cruise missile base.”

In the city of Lamerd, Fars province, evidence indicates a sports hall where a women's volleyball team was practicing was hit by a missile on the first day of the war, killing 21 people, including 4 children. CENTCOM denied responsibility and blamed Iran, but investigations by The New York Times, BBC, and independent analysts concluded that a US precision PrSM missile caused the destruction. This munition is designed to explode in the air, releasing thousands of tungsten pellets, causing casualties and damaging homes and vehicles over a wide area.

In more than six months of war with Iran, the US and Israel have also struck vital infrastructure such as oil and gas facilities, fuel depots, steel and petrochemical plants, airports, ports, bridges, power stations, medical centers, and water systems. According to authorities, more than 3,500 Iranians have been killed since the war began, including over 50 during a 60-day ceasefire when fighting resumed in July.