Iran mourns victims of wedding strike

Mourners in southern Iran gathered for the funeral of civilians killed in a reported U.S. airstrike that hit a wedding celebration in Kuhestak, turning a family event into a mass tragedy. Iranian officials said the strike killed 18 people, including a four-year-old child and a 22-year-old woman who later died in hospital, and wounded nearly 142 others. The attack struck a home in Sirik County, along the coast near the Strait of Hormuz, during a wider wave of U.S. bombardment in the region.

Iranian military and state officials condemned the strike as a deliberate attack on civilians. The chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the blood of the victims would not go unanswered and vowed that those who ordered and carried out the attack would be held accountable. He described the incident as a terrorist and inhumane act meant to spread fear among innocent families and said Iran’s armed forces would continue to protect national security with full resolve.

Iran’s Interests Protection Office in Cairo also denounced the attack as a war crime and a clear violation of international law. It said the bombing of a residential building during a wedding violated protections for civilians under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, and urged the United Nations and Security Council to respond. Iranian officials said they would pursue the case through diplomatic and legal channels and stressed that the victims’ deaths would remain part of the country’s historical memory.

The United States said it was aware of the Iranian reports but denied targeting civilians. American officials said the military was investigating the incident. The reported strike has intensified tensions in the Persian Gulf, where Iran has responded with missiles and drones against U.S. positions and regional defenses have intercepted some of the attacks.