Iran accuses US of striking wedding venue in Sirik, killing five
At least five people, including a child, were killed in Kuhestak as US forces targeted Iranian military assets following IRGC attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has accused the United States of bombing a residence during a wedding celebration in the southern county of Sirik, killing at least five people, including a child. Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described the attack as “brutal,” stating that it struck a home in the city of Kuhestak early on Wednesday.
Reza Shahidiyan, the governor of Sirik county, told the IRIB state broadcaster that 63 others were wounded in the incident. He reported that 50 of the victims were women and children, and that all injured individuals have been transported to a hospital in the nearby city of Minab, where they are currently in stable condition.
The semi-official Fars news agency published an account from a child who survived the blast. The survivor stated that he heard fighter jets before arriving at the venue, where an intense explosion caused bricks, stones, and cement to strike him and others. “Everyone was just ordinary civilians,” the child said.
The reports emerged as the US military announced a new wave of strikes against “Iranian military targets.” Washington cited attempted attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as the primary justification. The US military said its strikes hit Iranian air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites.
The escalation follows a weekend exchange of fire and occurs amid a continuing standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the start of the US and Israel’s war on the country on 28 February. Baghaei promised a response to the latest US attacks, pointing to earlier strikes on the city of Minab and Lamerd on the first day of the conflict.
In those previous incidents, US forces struck an elementary school in Minab, killing more than 150 people, and hit a sport hall in Lamerd, killing at least 21 people. In addition to Kuhestak, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported further explosions in the south of the country, including in Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and on Qeshm Island.
Iran’s military said it retaliated by attacking US bases and assets in Jordan, Bahrain, and Iraq. Kuwait also reported intercepting drones during the ongoing exchange.
