Iran attacks targets across Middle East as US strikes a wedding
Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain, escalating the conflict after American forces resumed strikes against Iran on Tuesday.
The Iranian attacks came as Tehran accused Washington of killing civilians in a strike on a wedding gathering in the southern Iranian town of Sirik. The Iranian Red Crescent said five people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 injured when shrapnel from a US missile hit a residential home where a wedding celebration was taking place. Iranian officials later put the number of wounded at 63.
The US military said it was aware of the reports but maintained that it does not target civilians. US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, speaking for US Central Command (Centcom), said the US military “never targets civilians”, contrasting its actions with those of the IRGC.
Centcom said its latest strikes on Iran followed “recent attempted attacks” by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American forces in the region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed retaliation. By early Wednesday, Iranian forces had launched ballistic missiles and drones at US-linked targets across the region.
Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted 13 ballistic missiles launched towards the country, destroying 10 and reporting that three fell in remote areas. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Kuwait’s military said its air defences were responding to Iranian missile attacks early Wednesday, while explosions were also reported in Bahrain. Iranian state media said the IRGC had attacked US bases in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, claiming it destroyed a maintenance centre, warehouses and military equipment.
Reuters reported that Jordan and Bahrain confirmed intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks, although details of damage and casualties remained unclear.
The latest exchange follows a month-long lull in fighting. The US resumed attacks earlier this week, saying it had struck Iranian rocket launchers that were being used to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at US bases in Jordan and launching a drone towards the UAE.
Centcom said its latest strikes on IRGC targets began at 12pm ET (1600 GMT) on Tuesday and were completed by early Wednesday.
Iranian state media reported that US strikes hit areas around Chabahar and Konarak, as well as an airport in Jiroft. Explosions were also reported on Qeshm Island and in Bandar Abbas.
Iranian authorities said civilian areas were among those hit. The Red Crescent said the Sirik strike killed five people, including a child, and wounded dozens. Reuters said it verified images from the aftermath by matching them with eyewitness video, road layouts and satellite imagery.
The latest escalation follows a wider US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on February 28. Iran responded by attacking Israel, US bases and allied states in the Gulf, while the conflict severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
A US-Iran agreement, known as the Memorandum of Understanding, was signed in June to extend an April ceasefire. The agreement has since expired, with hostilities resuming.