Iran has accused the US of a war crime after officials said a missile strike killed four people including two children at a wedding celebration.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said shrapnel from a missile hit a family wedding ceremony at a home in southern Iran, causing the deaths. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the incident a “war crime”.
A US Central Command (Centcom) spokesperson said it “never targets civilians”, adding that it was aware of the reports.
Iranian authorities said another 14 people were killed elsewhere. In response, Iran launched missiles and drones at US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain.
Most of the drones and missiles Iran launched at neighbouring countries were reportedly intercepted. Kuwait said a drone started a fire in a residential complex but caused no casualties.
Centcom said strikes on Iran followed “recent attempted attacks” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against American forces and commercial shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, through which around 20% of global oil and gas shipments usually pass.
The Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned that operations against American forces in the region would continue until the US “regrets” its crimes.
US President Donald Trump described Tuesday’s strikes on Iran as “large and powerful”.
Centcom said the targets included air defence sites, radar systems and maritime assets.
Iranian media reported explosions across the southern provinces of Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Kerman and Khuzestan.
The IRCS said at least four people were killed and 67 others were injured when shrapnel from a missile hit a family wedding ceremony at a home in the coastal town of Kuhestak, in Sirik.
Citing the Hormozgan Governorate, Iranian media named the dead as Zarkhatoon Taheri, 50; Kolsum Mallahi Nazhdnia, 43; Mohammad Mallahi, 16; and Amirali Karimi, four.
Media outlets initially quoted the IRCS as saying that five people were killed.
“Unfortunately, this is a residential building. And unfortunately, this happened during my daughter’s wedding ceremony,” Ali Mallahi, father of the bride and owner of the building, said in a video broadcast by state TV.
“It is a very saddening incident… Thank God the casualties were not higher.”
