The U.S. military has not yet verified claims that an American airstrike struck a wedding gathering in southern Iran on Tuesday evening. Reports from the Associated Press and the New York Times indicated that officials from U.S. Central Command acknowledged awareness of the allegations, emphasizing that “the U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” which refers to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to Iranian state television, the airstrike resulted in the deaths of at least four individuals who were part of a wedding celebration in the Hormozgan province. In response, the IRGC and Iran’s central military leadership issued statements asserting that they had targeted a minimum of seven military installations in the region previously associated with U.S. forces.
The IRGC’s statements included claims of attacks on facilities such as Camp Tabrin and Prince Hassan Base located in Jordan. They asserted that a ballistic missile strike on Camp Tabrin resulted in multiple U.S. casualties. However, U.S. Central Command refuted this assertion, clarifying that Camp Tabrin is not a U.S. base as alleged by the IRGC. It was also noted that the U.S. does not operate any bases within Jordan, though several installations host U.S. forces, including the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, where three American soldiers died due to an Iranian missile strike in July. This facility has reportedly faced renewed targeting this week, alongside the Prince Hassan Air Base.
Furthermore, Iran’s armed forces claimed to have conducted strikes on significant U.S. bases in Erbil, northern Iraq, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, the critical U.S. Naval Base in Bahrain, and Al Dhafra and Al Minhad bases in the United Arab Emirates. However, the U.S. military has not confirmed any Iranian attacks on these bases, and both Bahrain and Jordan reported that any incoming missiles or drones were intercepted or fell harmlessly without causing damage.
Iran’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. of inflicting casualties on over 50 individuals during the airstrike on the wedding party in southern Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei stated on social media that the residence in Kuhestak, part of the Sirik district in Hormozgan, was “brutally attacked” during the wedding festivities, resulting in significant loss of life and injuries among innocent civilians.
Baqaei described the alleged airstrike as part of a “chain of atrocities,” referencing a previous strike on a school in Minab that resulted in numerous child fatalities. While the U.S. was deemed “likely” responsible for that incident, preliminary intelligence suggested that it was not a deliberate attack, possibly stemming from outdated information that mistakenly identified the area as a military target.
No immediate response has been provided by U.S. officials regarding the allegations of the airstrike on the wedding party in southern Iran. Baqaei warned that the normalization of such attacks and silence over them poses a greater danger than the bomb itself, asserting that Iran would respond decisively to these alleged “savage crimes.” He cautioned that those who remain silent now may face consequences in the future, suggesting that ignoring injustice only empowers wrongdoers.
In the wake of renewed hostilities between Iran and the U.S., oil prices saw an increase early Wednesday. The escalation in direct conflict may dampen market expectations for a resolution to the ongoing war. International benchmark Brent crude oil was priced just below $96 a barrel for November deliveries on Tuesday night but saw a slight decline to approximately $95 early Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. staple crude, West Texas Intermediate, was trading above $90 a barrel.
Since the resurgence of fighting over the weekend, both benchmark crude prices have risen by 1% to 2% per day, marking a nearly 40% increase compared to this time last year, when the Iran conflict significantly restricted tanker movement through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post defending U.S. actions in the Iran conflict, former President Trump questioned when the Iranian populace would rise up against their government. He characterized the Iranian regime as being on a path to inevitable collapse and expressed indifference towards any agreements they might sign, labeling them as worthless.
Trump’s encouragement for the Iranian people to “rise up” mirrored his sentiments expressed shortly after the onset of the war in late February, urging them to overthrow their government. However, as the conflict extended beyond initial expectations, he distanced himself from calls for regime change, stating he “never cared about regime change,” viewing the deaths of key Iranian figures as a form of regime change.
The U.S. military’s Central Command reported that the most recent round of strikes against Iranian targets had concluded. In a statement released via social media, CENTCOM indicated that U.S. forces had targeted facilities associated with the IRGC, including air defense systems, radar installations, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communication infrastructures.
On Wednesday morning, Jordan’s military reported that the kingdom had been subjected to missile attacks originating from Iranian territory, marking the second such incident in recent days. The Jordanian armed forces detected 13 ballistic missiles, successfully intercepting 10, while three landed in unpopulated areas without causing any casualties.
