The city of Kuhestak, located in the Sirik district of Hormozgan province in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, was subjected to multiple overnight strikes by US military forces. Local sources and officials stated that one of the strikes hit a wedding ceremony.
The Hormozgan governor’s office on Wednesday named the four deceased: 4-year-old Amir Ali Karimi, 16-year-old Mohammad Malahi, 43-year-old Kolsum Malahi, and 43-year-old Zarkatun Taheri. More than 60 people were injured, some critically.
Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM), said US forces were aware of reports of civilian casualties, which he stated “originate from Iranian state media.” He added that “US forces never strike civilians, unlike the IRGC,” referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
While operational details of the strikes remain unclear, numerous videos and images from the area, eyewitness accounts, and official reports indicate that multiple munitions struck Kuhestak, some with lethal consequences. Footage shows several munitions hitting a telecommunications tower near the city’s coastline and destroying it. Some local residents believe drones may have been among the weapons used. Based on fragments found in Kuhestak, defense experts suggest the munitions could be a variant of the AGM-84K SLAM-ER, which manufacturer Boeing describes as a modern, precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile with “a pinpoint strike capability.”
Details of the wedding strike
Morning footage from Wednesday, filmed at a distance from the telecommunications tower, shows at least one direct hit on the roof of the building where the wedding was taking place. Additional videos released by local residents and state media show partial destruction and debris inside the building, as well as a power outage in the area. The footage depicts scattered women’s and children’s sandals. Several other nearby residential buildings were also damaged.
A reporter for state television said three US missiles were used in the attack. According to the reporter, one of them pierced the roof and created a hole in the ground measuring 1.5 meters across. A man named Ali Malahi, the owner of the building where his daughter’s wedding was being held, told state television that everyone inside was a civilian. State television footage from a hospital in the area showed several injured children and their families receiving medical treatment.
A young local resident injured in the attack said he and others were heading to the house when they heard aircraft overhead. He stated that powerful explosions occurred as they arrived. “Many small children and women were horribly injured,” he said from a hospital bed.
A woman with bloodied hands in a video published by the state-affiliated SNN channel said she was at the scene and could confirm that all those present were civilians. “This house was in no way located near a military site,” she said, adding that the munitions appeared to have been directly targeting the building.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the incident had been thoroughly documented, releasing several images from the attack site and photographs of injured children. The organization called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to take legal action against those responsible for the “grave” attack.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that the strikes on Kuhestak add to the “catalog of atrocities against the Iranian nation” by the United States.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X that “this brutality cannot be separated from the chain of atrocities that preceded it in Minab, Lamerd, Qeshm, and other places, as well as strikes on military targets that were covered by deceptive justifications.” He added: “More dangerous than the bomb itself is the normalization of bombings; and more dangerous than silence is turning silence into legitimacy.”
Other attacks on civilians
In Minab, also 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, February 28. The attack killed about 170 people, mostly schoolchildren, as well as teachers, parents, and others. Despite evidence of Tomahawk missile use in this attack, US forces have refused to release the findings of their investigation. CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper stated that the school was located “on an active IRGC cruise missile base.”
In the city of Lamerd in southern Fars province, evidence and eyewitness accounts pointed to a missile strike on a sports hall used by a women’s volleyball team on the first day of the war. The attack killed 21 people, including four children. Although CENTCOM denied responsibility and blamed Iran, investigations by The New York Times, BBC, and independent analysts concluded that the destruction was caused by a US Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). This munition was designed to explode in the air, scattering thousands of tungsten balls that could cause casualties and damage buildings and vehicles over a wide area.
Over more than six months of war against Iran, the US and Israel have also struck critical infrastructure, including oil and gas facilities, fuel depots, metallurgical and petrochemical plants, airports, ports and bridges, as well as power plants, medical centers, and water supply facilities.
According to authorities, more than 3,500 Iranians have been killed since the start of the war. Among them, more than 50 people died during a 60-day ceasefire amid renewed fighting in July.
Source: Al Jazeera
