Iran Retaliates After US Strikes Kill Civilians At Wedding, Tehran Says

Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks against US-linked military targets across the Middle East following fresh American strikes that Iranian authorities said killed civilians, including people attending a wedding.

The latest exchange of attacks marks a significant escalation between Washington and Tehran, with Iran targeting US interests in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media and regional authorities.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it launched a heavy ballistic missile attack against US bases in Jordan, while Iranian media reported drone attacks against a US base in Bahrain.

Jordan’s armed forces said its air defence systems dealt with 13 ballistic missiles that entered the country’s airspace. Ten were intercepted, while three landed in remote areas, according to Reuters.

Bahrain also said its forces intercepted and destroyed Iranian drones, while Kuwait reported that its air defences were responding to a hostile drone attack.

In Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it carried out combined missile and drone attacks against US bases in Erbil, claiming it destroyed a maintenance centre, warehouses and other military equipment.

The claims of damage and casualties from the attacks in Iraq had not been independently confirmed.

Two US officials also told Reuters that there were no casualties from the Iranian attack on facilities in Jordan based on initial assessments.

The Iranian retaliation came after the United States carried out a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on Tuesday.

The US Central Command said its forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defence systems, radar sites, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.

Iranian authorities said the American strikes caused civilian casualties.

The Iranian Red Crescent reported that five people were killed and 50 wounded when shrapnel from a US missile struck a home where a wedding celebration was taking place near Sirik in Hormozgan province.

Iranian news agency Mehr reported that a four-year-old child was among those killed, while IRNA, citing a provincial official, put the number of wounded at 68.

Separately, IRNA reported that seven people were killed and eight others wounded in US missile strikes on three locations in Khuzestan province.

The US military has not directly addressed the reported wedding strike. CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins said the US military does not target civilians.

The latest US strikes followed renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, where Washington accused Iran of attempting to lay sea mines and attacking US military positions.

US President Donald Trump had warned Tehran against retaliating, saying Iran would face a stronger response if it attacked US forces or interests.

Trump said the next US response could come at a “much harder and higher level” and warned that an even larger attack was “waiting in the wings”.

Iran nevertheless proceeded with the retaliatory attacks, with its military command warning that countries supporting US military operations in the region could also face consequences.

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said countries cooperating with the United States would face what he described as “more severe, more widespread and destructive responses”.

The renewed fighting has also heightened concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy route through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed before the conflict disrupted shipping.

Iran has threatened to prevent oil exports from the Gulf if it is prevented from exporting its own oil, raising fears that further military escalation could worsen disruption to global energy markets.