Iran and US Exchange Threats After Deadly Strike on Wedding Party
Iran and the United States traded threats on Wednesday following renewed fighting that included a US strike on a wedding in southern Iran, killing four people. Trump vowed further attacks while Tehran announced a 'new strategy' in the conflict.
Iran and the United States escalated their rhetoric on Wednesday following some of the heaviest military exchanges in weeks, including a strike on a wedding ceremony in southern Iran that Tehran labeled a "war crime."
President Donald Trump said US forces had carried out a "very heavy attack" on Iranian targets overnight and were prepared to repeat it at any time. Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned that Washington would soon face a "new strategy" from Tehran on the battlefield, in diplomacy, and in resisting the economic blockade.
Trump also floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil route that Iran has effectively kept closed for six months — as "Trump Strait," though he later said the remark wasn't serious.
Wedding Tragedy in Sirik
After extensive US bombardment of Iranian sites on Tuesday, Iran retaliated by targeting US bases in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq's Kurdistan region. According to Iran's Red Crescent, a US strike on a wedding in Sirik killed four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei sharply condemned Washington, while top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf described the US actions as "Satanic." US Central Command did not directly address the incident, stating only that American forces never target civilians.
Background to the Conflict
The current round of hostilities began Sunday when Washington struck Iranian targets for the first time in several weeks. Iran responded by hitting US troops in Jordan and the UAE, while unclaimed attacks struck two oil tankers, killing two Filipino sailors on one of them.
The war originally began on February 28, when US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A fragile ceasefire later collapsed after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply once passed.
Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said the country was prepared to respond with great force if attacked by Iran during the upcoming Jewish high holiday season, which begins in mid-September.