US strikes hit wedding in southern Iran

The US military struck targets in Iran on Tuesday, with one strike hitting a home where a wedding was being held in Kuhestak, a village in Hormozgan province. According to Ahmad Nafisi, the province's deputy governor, the strike killed two people and wounded at least 50 others. The Iranian Red Crescent later said the death toll had risen to four, including a child, while Nafisi subsequently reported five killed and 68 injured, as carried by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

The US Central Command said the strikes were in response to Iranian attempts to attack commercial ships and American forces in the Middle East. President Donald Trump offered an additional explanation, telling Fox News that US forces struck Iran's radars. "They tried to rebuild their radar because they can't see anything," Trump said. "We waited until it was almost built and then we hit it."

Iranian state media reported that the US had bombed civilian sites along Iran's southern coast, including a fishmeal factory on Qeshm Island and several civilian sites in Hormozgan province. State TV also reported that the US military struck the civilian Jiroft Airport in Kerman province. Iran's electricity grid management company, Tavanir, said several parts of Hormozgan province's power network had been struck.

Iran retaliates against US bases

On Wednesday, Iran launched retaliatory strikes at US bases throughout the Middle East. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched missile and drone strikes on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait. The Kuwait Army and the Bahrain Defense Force confirmed they had come under attack. The Kuwait Army said its air defenses were "confronting hostile missile and drone attacks" from Iran.

The IRGC said the strikes were in response to the US attack near Kuhestak. It described the deadly US strike as "a malicious attack," saying in a statement: "In a flagrant violation of human rights, the child-killing American military bombed a residential home in Sirik and drenched it in blood, turning the marriage celebration of a young and respected Sunni couple into mourning."

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission of the Iranian parliament, said the attack was "the ultimate proof of the utter desperation of the fake defenders of human rights." He added: "Make no mistake: these crimes will not go unpunished. Nothing will protect them from the crushing will of Iran's Armed Forces."

The IRGC claimed to have struck "the headquarters and residence of the American commander at Ali Al Salem Air Base" in Kuwait, saying it had killed US personnel. The claim could not be independently verified. The Jordan Armed Forces said that of the 13 ballistic missiles Iran fired that entered its airspace, 10 were destroyed and three fell in remote areas.

Escalation over the Strait of Hormuz

The renewed fighting comes after a nearly monthlong pause in US attacks on Iran, which ended Sunday when US Central Command attacked launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command said Monday that its attacks on Sunday were "narrowly focused." The US military has cast the renewed fighting as limited, but Trump acknowledged Monday that more strikes might be necessary.

The conflict, which began in late February, has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran's coast that is a vital oil shipping corridor. Iran has been restricting access to the strait with drones, missiles and artillery, effectively closing it after the war began. Trump has for months repeatedly stated that the US military controls the strait, posting on his Truth Social platform that it is US territory. He said he was not trying to force Iran to the negotiating table, saying: "I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait."

The state-run IRNA news agency cited a statement by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warning that the attacks have only strengthened the Islamic Republic's resolve and tightened Iran's effective closure of the strait, through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows.

Economic fallout

The escalation has pushed oil prices sharply higher. Crude oil prices are up about 7% this week following the strikes, and have jumped more than 50% this year. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the US ticked higher overnight to $4.10, according to AAA. Last year at this time, a gallon cost $3.19.

Diplomatic overtures

Amid the fighting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier Tuesday that the Islamic Republic is ready to return to the interim ceasefire deal reached with the US in June if Washington does the same. The June interim deal called for an immediate ceasefire and started a 60-day period for negotiations aimed at reaching a wider agreement, but it crumbled soon afterward.