Iran: 18 dead and 108 wounded in wave of US strikes
Among the dead are four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, as well as ten Basij members. According to Iranian reports, one of the munitions hit a residential house where a wedding was taking place, leading to the deaths of the four additional victims. "This is a war crime," senior government officials declared, clarifying: "This will not go unpunished."
At least 18 people were killed and 108 wounded in the wave of strikes carried out by the United States in Iran, the Iranian Minister of Health, Mohammad-Reza Zafarkandi, announced last night (Wednesday). This is the first official and comprehensive Iranian count published since the American attack began on a series of targets in the south of the country.
Among the dead are four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, who were killed in a strike in Kermanshah province, as well as ten Basij members who were killed in various locations. Three of the Basij members were killed on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf. Four additional fatalities are civilians who were hit in a strike in the port city of Koohestak in Sirik province, on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA and state television, one of the munitions hit a residential house where a wedding was taking place. The four dead at the scene were two women and two children, aged 4 and 16. Another 68 wedding participants were wounded.
Initially, the deputy governor of Hormozgan province, Ahmad Nafisi, stated that five people were killed at the scene, but later state media corrected the count to four. Iranian authorities did not explain the change.
The Iranian Red Crescent reported that shrapnel from an American missile hit the house where the wedding was taking place. Nafisi said that "a residential house was attacked while the residents were holding a wedding ceremony there." In footage published by media outlets in Iran, heavy destruction of the house and rescue teams working at the scene were visible, as well as wounded children receiving treatment at a hospital in the nearby city of Minab.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs defined the strike on the wedding as a "war crime," while Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, warned:
"Let there be no doubt, these crimes will not go unpunished."
The American strikes hit a series of locations in southern Iran. Iranian reports mentioned explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask, Konarak, Chabahar, and on the islands of Qeshm and Lavan. The deputy governor for security affairs in Sistan and Baluchestan province confirmed that four munitions hit the areas of Chabahar and Konarak, but did not report any casualties in these locations. On Qeshm Island, at least eight explosions were reported, and in Konarak, six.
United States Central Command announced that the strikes targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assets, including air defense arrays, radar systems, naval vessels and facilities, mine-laying capabilities, and communication infrastructure. According to the Americans, the action followed Iranian attempts to target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and American forces deployed in the region.
In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that the United States had attacked "blindly and desperately" several locations, including civilian areas. The organization's statement said that "the brave fighters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have begun a response that will make the aggressors regret it," and that the retaliatory actions would continue.
Subsequently, Iran launched missiles and UAVs toward targets identified with the United States in Jordan, Bahrain, and Iraq. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have hit American facilities and forces in Jordan, but these claims could not be independently verified. No casualties were reported in the attacked countries.
The US military stated that it had completed the latest wave of strikes. US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran responds, it will be attacked again "with much greater power and intensity." At the same time, US Central Command announced that it is reviewing the Iranian reports regarding the strike on the wedding, but did not confirm that an American munition was what hit the house.
