US strikes across Iran killed at least 11 people, Iranian officials said Wednesday, including four in an attack that hit a house hosting a wedding in Kuhestak
The United States and Iran exchanged intense strikes across the Middle East overnight, abruptly ending a months-long lull in hostilities.
US strikes hit sites across Iran late on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, with Iranian authorities reporting at least 11 people killed. The US military claimed that the latest round of attacks targeted Iranian air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities, despite Iranian officials reporting multiple civilian casualties.
Search and rescue operations were underway on Wednesday after Iran accused the US of striking a house hosting a wedding in Kuhestak, a coastal city near the Strait of Hormuz in Sirik County, Hormozgan province.
Iranian officials said at least four people, including a four-year-old child, were killed and dozens injured in the attack. US Central Command said it was aware of reports that a wedding had been hit, but insisted that US forces do not target civilians.
The incident has prompted outrage and could become a significant case of civilian casualties in the escalating conflict.
In a letter to the International Criminal Court, Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) called for immediate legal action following last night’s US strike on the wedding ceremony in Kuhestak.
“Given the reported civilian character of the location as the venue of a family wedding ceremony, as well as the presence of civilians at the site, the incident raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and warrants an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation,” the IRCS said.
“Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of civilian life or injury to civilians that would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated may, subject to the conditions and elements prescribed by the Rome Statute, give rise to individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law,” the statement added.
Iran said US strikes also hit telecommunications infrastructure in Hormozgan, with repair crews working to restore services.
Elsewhere, Iranian media reported that at least three members of the Basij paramilitary force were killed in a strike on Lavan Island in the Gulf. Four other soldiers were reported killed in Kermanshah province, near the Iraqi border.
In Khuzestan province, attacks on three locations killed at least seven people and wounded eight others, according to the province’s deputy governor. Explosions were also reported in Chabahar and elsewhere in Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Axios, citing US officials, reported that US forces struck two Iranian tankers during the latest wave of attacks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, however, said on Wednesday that two of its oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
"I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing," US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. "They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"
Iran’s joint military command responded with a warning that any country supporting the US military campaign in the region would face "heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses".
Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf as well as Jordan and northern Iraq, ending a relative quiet period in which Iranian strikes and regional air raid alerts had largely subsided.
Tehran said it targeted US military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, including Al Dhafra and Al Minhad air bases in the UAE. Authorities in the UAE had not publicly acknowledged any damage or casualties by Wednesday morning.
Kuwaiti authorities said they extinguished a fire in Kuwait City after what they described as an Iranian drone attack on a residential building. No injuries were reported. Iran claimed that it had targeted Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base, though Kuwaiti officials did not confirm that the base had been struck.
In Bahrain, air raid sirens sounded across the kingdom overnight and into Wednesday morning. The Bahraini military said its air defences were responding to multiple Iranian attacks. While Iran claimed to have struck with drones the Sheikh Isa Air Base, which hosts US troops, Bahraini authorities had not commented on the claim or reported any damage.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted 10 Iranian missiles, while the remaining projectiles landed in unpopulated areas, adding that there had been no casualties or damage to infrastructure.
Iran also claimed responsibility for attacks in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, saying it had targeted US facilities in Erbil in a "coordinated missile and drone attack", according to the state news agency IRNA.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, the US consulate in Erbil urged Americans to "exercise heightened vigilance" amid renewed attacks. The Kurdistan Democratic Party said two of its sites northeast of Erbil had been hit by Iranian strikes, without giving details on damage or casualties, as residents reported explosions across the city overnight.
The renewed escalation follows months of limited direct confrontation since July, during which both sides largely held fire but failed to make progress in negotiations. US-Iran talks have stalled in recent weeks, while Washington has threatened further sanctions aimed at weakening Iran’s economy.
Pakistan, which has sought to mediate between the two sides, said it remained committed to efforts to end the conflict.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Wednesday that Islamabad remained hopeful the two sides would "return to the table for dialogue". He said Pakistan had seen "considerable momentum" on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz during an official delegation’s visit to Tehran last month.
