Conflict & Security
Iran wedding strike toll rises to 5, officials say
Iranian authorities said an alleged US strike on a wedding gathering in the southern coastal town of Kuhestak killed five people and wounded nearly 70, while Washington said it was investigating and had not accepted responsibility.
The dead included a four-year-old child, three women and one man. One of the women died later in hospital.
Relatives who spoke to Iranian media said the bride and groom had not yet arrived when the blast hit the Mallahi family's home on Tuesday night, but dozens of women and children were already gathered for the celebration.
AFP journalists who visited the area on Sunday under the supervision of Iranian authorities saw severe damage at the home. The ceiling of one room had collapsed, hallway walls were cracked, windows were shattered and the kitchen area was wrecked. Shoes were piled in one room, a large hole had been blown through another wall and part of the building's exterior wall was blackened by fire.
Kuhestak was hit during a wider US bombardment of southern Iran on September 1. On Sunday, workers were cutting away the remains of a 15-metre telecommunications tower near the town's port, about 100 metres from the house. A technical and administrative building in the same complex was seriously damaged. The pier and a large barge at the port were also damaged, and several houses had been evacuated.
Iranian authorities have blamed the United States for the wedding strike. Iran's judiciary said the United States used precision-guided munitions, and the foreign ministry called the attack a “war crime”.
Washington has not accepted responsibility for hitting the wedding gathering. US officials said the military had targeted communications and other military infrastructure in the area. The United States has said it is investigating and does not intentionally target civilians.
US Vice President JD Vance had earlier said Washington was probing the allegation but was “extremely sceptical” of Iranian state media reports. US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said “the US military never targets civilians”.
Update
Iranian authorities now said five people were killed in the alleged strike on the wedding gathering, up from the earlier reported toll of at least four.
AFP journalists who visited the site under Iranian authority supervision saw a collapsed ceiling, cracked walls, shattered windows, a damaged kitchen area, fire-blackened exterior wall and a large hole in one wall.
Relatives who spoke to Iranian media said the bride and groom had not yet arrived when the blast hit, but dozens of women and children were already gathered.
Workers were cutting away the remains of a 15-metre telecommunications tower near the port that was knocked down in the attacks.
The pier and a large barge at Kuhestak port were also damaged, and several houses had been evacuated.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 18:15:18 UTC.
Update
US Vice President Vance said the United States is probing the alleged Iranian wedding strike but is skeptical.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 18:04:40 UTC.
Update
Iranian officials called the wedding strike a "war crime".
State television carried Ahmad Vahidi's statement saying the victims' blood would "definitely be avenged".
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 13:20:27 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief vowed to avenge victims killed in what the item described as a US wedding strike.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 12:32:49 UTC.
Update
Iran's Tasnim news agency said six members of the Iranian army's naval forces were killed in US attacks on September 1.
Tasnim said the deaths occurred in southern Iran but did not specify the exact location.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 September 2026 at 12:13:19 UTC.
Update
Iranian authorities said the strike in Kuhestak killed at least four people, including a child, and wounded 68 others at a wedding.
Footage circulated in Iran showing debris, abandoned shoes and damaged wedding decorations after the strike.
Hormozgan provincial authorities said telecommunications and internet towers and sites were seriously damaged in the latest strikes.
Iranian media carried accounts from the bride's father, wounded people and others at or near the wedding site.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 12:51:08 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said three Basij paramilitary members were killed overnight on Lavan Island in the Gulf.
A local IRGC commander was quoted by Mehr news agency attributing the Lavan Island attack to the United States.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 07:59:11 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said four IRGC Aerospace Force personnel were killed in a US attack in Kermanshah province.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 07:16:05 UTC.
Update
Iranian state media reported that a US missile attack on three locations in Khuzestan province killed seven people and injured eight.
The report came after the Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 were wounded in Sirik county.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 03:23:27 UTC.
Update
Iranian state media reported that Iran said 11 people were dead in US strikes on its territory.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 03:15:14 UTC.
Update
The US military said it had completed its latest wave of strikes against Iranian military air and sea infrastructure.
US Central Command said the strikes hit Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets including air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 22:43:11 UTC.
Update
The Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 were wounded.
The Red Crescent said shrapnel from a US missile attack hit a residential home in Kuhestak where a wedding celebration was taking place.
An Iranian government account shared video it said showed debris and damage at the wedding site in Sirik after the strike.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 20:13:41 UTC.
Update
Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor of Hormozgan province, said two people were killed and several others wounded.
Nafisi said the attack hit a residential home while a wedding ceremony was being held.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 19:42:58 UTC.
Update
Iranian state television said the reported attack hit a residential area in Bandar Kuhestak in Sirik county.
Iranian state television said residents were wounded while attending a wedding ceremony.
The updated report still did not give a casualty figure.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 19:18:51 UTC.
Update
Iranian state television said there were casualties at a wedding ceremony from a US attack in southern Iran.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 19:14:21 UTC.
Update
Fars news agency cited Kerman province's deputy governor as saying the reported strike caused no casualties.
Fars news agency cited the deputy governor as saying the runway and airport buildings were not damaged.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:58:34 UTC.
Update
Iranian state television reported that a US attack targeted Jiroft airport in Kerman province.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:28:33 UTC.
Update
Iranian state TV said explosions were heard again in Bandar Abbas city and on Qeshm Island.
Iranian state TV said blasts were also heard on Lavan Island, home to one of Iran's oil export terminals in the Gulf.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:09:57 UTC.
Update
Iranian state television reported fresh explosions heard along Hormuz and on a Gulf island.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:04:36 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the United States would regret the latest attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said in a post on X that “severe punishment awaits the aggressors.”
Explosions were heard in multiple areas along and east of Hormuz.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 17:42:22 UTC.
Update
Trump said the latest US attacks near the Strait of Hormuz were in response to Iran laying mines and shooting missiles at an American base in Jordan.
Trump said on Truth Social that Iran would be hit at a “much harder and higher level” if it retaliated.
Trump said a larger attack was “waiting in the wings” and warned that “there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran” if it was carried out.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 17:33:22 UTC.
Update
US President Donald Trump warned of “much harder” action if Iran retaliated to the strikes.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 17:28:46 UTC.
Update
The strikes came after six months of war, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the United States maintaining a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
The United States had struck Larak Island on Sunday, and Iran later said it targeted US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
US President Donald Trump had said there would be a response after the earlier exchange.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 16:56:26 UTC.
Update
US Central Command said the strikes targeted Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
US Central Command said the strikes were in response to recent attempted attacks against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members in the region.
US Central Command said the strikes began at 12:00 pm, or 1600 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 16:45:43 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Washington has not accepted responsibility for the attack on the wedding gathering.
The exact intended target of the strike that hit the home remains disputed.
The figures of nearly 70 wounded and the earlier figure of 68 wounded may refer to the same casualties.
Source
AFP news report published on .