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Dead and wounded in Sirik wedding strike

Iran strongly blamed Washington for a U.S. attack after a family celebration was hit in Sirik, in the southern province of Hormozgan. The Iranian Red Crescent said missile shrapnel struck a wedding at a house in the coastal town of Kuhestak, killing at least 4 people and injuring 67.

Iranian media said among the dead were a 16-year-old and a 4-year-old child. Early reports put the death toll at 5, but later information cited by the Hormozgan governor's office put the number of dead at 4. The father of the bride, who owned the house, also said the strike hit a residential building and the toll could have been higher.

Washington and Tehran trade statements

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the incident as a war crime. In response, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said it was aware of reports from Sirik, but argued that the U.S. military does not target civilians.

Centcom said the attacks on Iran were carried out in response to recent efforts by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against American forces and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. side said the targets included air defense positions, radar systems and naval assets, while Iranian authorities said 14 more people were killed in other parts of the country.

According to Iranian state media, 7 of those casualties occurred in three separate strikes around Ahvaz and Aghajari in Khuzestan. The Revolutionary Guards also said four members of their aerospace forces were killed in Kermanshah, while three Basij members were killed on Lavan Island.

What did verified images show in the area?

BBC Verify said it had confirmed the destruction of a telecommunications tower using a video and two images said to have been taken near the Kuhestak coast on Tuesday. The same review found heavy damage to homes about 130 meters north of the tower, while a BBC Persian Forensics analysis showed the house where the wedding was held was about 112 meters from the tower.

A weapons expert also said debris visible in images said to be from the scene appeared to match the AGM-84 SLAM-ER cruise missile, known to be used by the United States. The assessment was presented as a technical analysis of the evidence at the site, not a final independent determination of responsibility.

Retaliation in the region and tensions over Hormuz

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular army said on Wednesday morning that ballistic missiles and drones were launched at U.S. bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for the American strikes. Iran claimed there were casualties and damage at Camp Titin in Jordan, but U.S. officials told Reuters there were no deaths.

  • Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted 13 ballistic missiles, shooting down 10 and allowing 3 to fall in uninhabited areas.
  • Kuwait's fire service said it extinguished a fire at a residential complex hit by a drone and reported no injuries.
  • Iraqi authorities declined to comment on claims around Erbil, while local media reported that a U.S. surveillance balloon was hit by drones.

Tensions rose again after the United States said on Sunday it had struck two rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz that it said could be used to lay mines, following about a month of relative calm. An understanding reached in June aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the strait to trade collapsed within weeks, after which both military tensions and pressure on commercial shipping increased again.

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