US Strike Hits Wedding in Iran, Killing 5 Including Child and Injuring Over 50

A US airstrike hit a residential home hosting a wedding celebration in southern Iran, 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, Hormozgan province, near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The strike came as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified following a period of relative calm. Iranian officials condemned the attack, with the Foreign Ministry describing it as part of a broader pattern of civilian casualties during the conflict.

“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 that Iranian authorities say killed 160 people on the first day of the current war.

Casualty figures from the wedding strike varied as rescue teams continued their operations. Iranian authorities initially reported at least five deaths and more than 50 injuries, while Reuters cited reports that as many as 68 people were wounded. Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB released visuals from the scene showing the aftermath of the attack.

The Iranian embassy in India also condemned the strike, calling it “another crime by the terrorist US military” and saying that the attack targeted a wedding ceremony in Bandar Kuhestak.

The Pentagon has not issued an official finding on the reported Minab school strike. However, Reuters, citing a source, reported that the attack may have resulted from the US military using outdated targeting data.

US-Iran Conflict Escalates Again

The wedding strike came amid a fresh wave of US attacks on Iran. US Central Command said it had completed strikes against targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including air defence systems, radar installations, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.

Washington said the strikes followed accusations that Iran was attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz and had launched attacks against US forces in the region.

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US military positions across the region. The IRGC claimed it had struck US military facilities in Jordan and Iraq and that American personnel were killed. US officials, however, told Reuters that initial assessments showed no American casualties.

Jordan’s armed forces said its air defences dealt with 13 ballistic missiles that entered its airspace, intercepting 10 while three landed in remote areas. Bahrain also said Iranian drones had been intercepted and destroyed.

Iranian media separately reported that IRGC ground forces launched missile and drone attacks against US bases in Erbil, northern Iraq. Claims of American casualties could not be independently verified.

The latest exchange represents one of the most serious escalations between Washington and Tehran in weeks. The two sides had largely refrained from major attacks since July, but the pause failed to produce a meaningful resumption of negotiations.

The renewed hostilities have also intensified concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil shipments. Oil prices climbed following the latest attacks as markets assessed the potential for further disruption to energy supplies.