Iran launched missiles and drones at US targets across the Middle East after reports said a US strike in southern Iran killed five people, including a child, at a wedding celebration.
WEBDESK – BBC – MediaBites.com.pk
TEHRAN — Iran launched missile and drone attacks against US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain early Wednesday after American forces resumed strikes against Iran, escalating a widening confrontation across the Middle East.
The Iranian Red Crescent said five people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 others injured when shrapnel from a US missile strike hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place in Sirik, a coastal county in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military said it was aware of the reports but denied targeting civilians.
“The US military never targets civilians,” US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, speaking on behalf of US Central Command, said.
CENTCOM said its latest strikes against Iran followed what it described as recent attempted attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American forces in the region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed that Washington would “regret” the attacks. By early Wednesday, Iranian forces had launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward a US Marine base in Jordan’s Aqaba region, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Jordan’s armed forces said air defenses intercepted 13 ballistic missiles, destroying 10, while three landed in remote areas. Authorities reported no deaths or injuries.
Kuwait’s military said its air defense systems were responding to Iranian missile attacks, while Iranian state media reported explosions in Bahrain.
Iran’s IRNA news agency also reported attacks on US bases in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, claiming Iranian forces destroyed a maintenance center, warehouses and military equipment.
The latest escalation comes after a month-long pause in major hostilities. The United States resumed attacks against Iran earlier this week, saying it had struck rocket launchers allegedly used in operations connected to mining activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded with missile attacks on air bases in Jordan and a drone operation targeting the United Arab Emirates.
Iranian state media reported that the latest US strikes hit several locations, including areas near Chabahar and Konarak, while explosions were reported on Qeshm Island, in Bandar Abbas and near an airport in Jiroft.
The confrontation marks another sharp escalation in a conflict that began when the United States and Israel launched extensive strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran responded by targeting Israel, US military installations and allied Gulf states, while the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most strategically important shipping routes — was effectively closed to significant marine traffic.
A US-Iran memorandum signed in June had extended an April ceasefire, but the agreement later expired, allowing hostilities to resume.
Both sides have since accused each other of targeting shipping. Iran has sought to restrict vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz without its permission, while Washington has intensified military and economic pressure, including a new sanctions campaign announced in August.
The latest exchange of attacks raises fresh concerns that the conflict could spread further across the Gulf, drawing additional countries and military installations into an increasingly volatile regional confrontation.
