US military strikes Iranian wedding ceremony in Kuhestak, killing four and wounding over 60

Tehran, Iran – The city of Kuhestak, located in southern Iran’s Sirik County in Hormozgan province, close to the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of multiple overnight attacks by the United States military, with local sources and authorities saying a wedding ceremony was struck.

The Hormozgan governor’s office on Wednesday identified four victims as four-year-old Amir Ali Karimi, 16-year-old Mohammad Malahi, 43-year-old Kolsoum Malahi and 43-year-old Zarkhatoun Taheri. More than 60 others were wounded, some seriously.

Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM), said they were aware of reports of civilian casualties “originated from Iranian state media”.

“The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” he said, in reference to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

But while the operational details behind the strikes remain unclear, numerous videos and images from the area, witness accounts and official reports indicate that multiple projectiles hit Kuhestak, some to deadly effect.

Footage showed that several projectiles struck a telecommunications tower located near the city’s shoreline and destroyed it, with some locals saying they believed drones were among the weapons used. Based on fragments found in Kuhestak, defence experts say it might be a variant of the AGM-84K SLAM-ER, which manufacturer Boeing describes as an advanced precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile with “surgical strike capability”.

Wednesday morning’s footage, taken from some distance from the telecom tower, shows at least one direct hit to the roof of the building where the wedding was taking place.

More videos, released by locals and state media, showed partial destruction and debris inside the building, and electricity going out in the area. Women’s and children’s slippers could be seen scattered around. Several other adjacent residential buildings also sustained damage.

A state television reporter said three US missiles were used in the attack, with one penetrating through the roof and creating a 1.5-metre (5-foot) hole in the ground.

A man identified as Ali Malahi, the owner of the targeted building where his daughter’s wedding was taking place, told state television that people inside were all civilians.

State TV footage from a hospital in the area showed several wounded children and their families receiving medical care.

A young local man wounded in the attack said he and others were heading towards the house when they heard jets flying above, and the bombs caused massive explosions while they were arriving.

“Many young children and women were horribly wounded,” he said from the hospital bed.

A woman with bloodied hands said in a video released by state-linked SNN that she was there at the scene and could confirm that people present at the scene were civilians.

“This house was by no means close to any military site,” she said, adding that it appeared the munitions were directly targeting the building.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the incident was thoroughly documented, as it released several images from the site of the attack and the children who were injured.

It wrote to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, seeking legal action against the perpetrators of the “grave” attack.

Other prominent attacks on civilians

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the strikes in Kuhestak complete the “catalogue of atrocities against the nation of Iran” by the US.

“This cruelty cannot be separated from the chain of atrocities that preceded it in Minab, Lamerd, Qeshm and elsewhere nor from the strikes on military targets that were dressed in deceptive justifications,” spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X.

“More dangerous than the bomb itself is the normalisation of bombing; and more dangerous than silence is the conversion of silence into legitimacy,” he said.

In Minab, also located in Hormozgan province, the deadliest strike of the war in terms of civilian casualties largely destroyed an elementary school packed with children on the first day of the war on February 28. The attack killed about 170 people, mostly schoolchildren, as well as teachers, parents and others.

Despite evidence that its Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack, the US military has refused to release findings from its investigation. CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper claimed the school was located “on an active IRGC cruise missile base”.

In the southern Fars province’s city of Lamerd, evidence and witness accounts pointed to a missile strike on a sports hall being used by a women’s volleyball team on the first day of the war, killing 21 people, including four children.

While CENTCOM denied responsibility and accused Iran, investigations by The New York Times, BBC and independent analysts concluded that a US Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) was responsible for the destruction.

The munition was designed to explode midair, scattering thousands of tungsten pellets that could claim casualties and deal damage to buildings and vehicles in a large area.

During over six months of war on Iran, the US and Israel have also struck critical infrastructure like oil and gas facilities, fuel depots, steel and petrochemical factories, airports, ports and bridges, as well as power installations, medical centres and water facilities.

More than 3,500 Iranians have been killed since the start of the war, including more than 50 during the 60-day truce amid renewed fighting in July, according to authorities.