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Iran accuses US of war crime over deadly strike on wedding
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has accused the US of committing a war crime following a reported deadly strike that hit a wedding party in southern Iran.
In a post on X, he said: “The truth of this unlawful war of choice – and the true face of the war crime – is in Sirik, where a wedding ceremony was brutally bombed as part of America’s desperate struggle to conceal its failure, not in AI-generated videos portraying American officials as triumphant heroes.”
Iranian media has published more images from the site of the attack, as seen in the newswire pictures below:
Key events
Natasha May
The USS Abraham Lincoln, a US aircraft carrier at the centre of a row over conditions on board after months at sea as part of Donald Trump’s war against Iran, has arrived off a Thai port.
Reports of deteriorating living conditions and poor mental health on the vessel, including attempted suicides, have made headlines around the world, provoking criticism of the president’s actions in the Middle East.
A heavy security presence was in force at Laem Chabang port near Pattaya, south of Bangkok, where the 5,000-strong crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived on Wednesday morning after more than 270 days at sea.
The huge nuclear-powered ship left California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was rerouted to the Middle East before US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began six months ago.
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Iran accuses US of war crime over deadly strike on wedding
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has accused the US of committing a war crime following a reported deadly strike that hit a wedding party in southern Iran.
In a post on X, he said: “The truth of this unlawful war of choice – and the true face of the war crime – is in Sirik, where a wedding ceremony was brutally bombed as part of America’s desperate struggle to conceal its failure, not in AI-generated videos portraying American officials as triumphant heroes.”
Iranian media has published more images from the site of the attack, as seen in the newswire pictures below:
The Iranian attacks reported across the Middle East
Several Iranian attacks have been reported across the Middle East. Here is a summary of the incidents so far (as per news agencies):
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Jordan said its military dealt with 13 missiles, 10 of which were intercepted and three which fell in remote areas. Iran said it killed US forces in Jordan, but American officials told Reuters there had not been any casualties.
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Kuwait, which is known to host some US troops in its vast Ali Al Salem airbase, said a fire broke out at a residential complex in its capital after it was hit by an Iranian drone this morning. It said the blaze had been contained and there were no casualties. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that a “number” of “enemy” forces were killed and drones were destroyed in a missile and drone attack on Ali Al Salem airbase, but this has not been confirmed by either the American or Kuwaiti military.
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Bahrain, which houses the regional headquarters of the US navy, said its air defences “repelled, intercepted and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian air attacks” today, without providing further details.
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The IRGC said it carried out missile and drone attacks on US bases in Erbil in northern Iraq, claiming to have killed several personnel there. Neither Iraq nor the US confirmed the attack.
Saudi Arabia blames Iran for attack on oil tanker that killed two people
Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for the attack on an oil tanker on Monday that killed two people.
As reported earlier, Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company, Bahri, confirmed two seafarers from the Philippines died when its crude carrier Sidr was struck by unknown projectiles as it sailed out of the strait of Hormuz.
In a statement on social media, the Saudi foreign ministry said:
The ministry of foreign affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s targeting of the Saudi tanker (Sidr) while the tanker was passing through the strait of Hormuz, and the resulting fatalities among the tanker’s crew.”
The ministry said it also condemned the Iranian attacks against Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, while “affirming its full solidarity with brotherly countries in the measures they take to protect their security and safety from any threat”.
Washington has not officially responded to reports that the US military hit a wedding ceremony in southern Iran during a wave of strikes last night. The Associated Press reported the US military said it was aware of the allegations but that it “never targets civilians”.
The US central command (Centcom) said it struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets including “air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites”.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz and against American service members,” Centcom said in a statement last night. It also published footage purportedly showing the attacks.
Iranian Red Crescent calls on ICC to investigate wedding attack
The Iranian Red Crescent has written to the international criminal court ICC) calling for legal action to be taken against the US following last night’s reported attack on a wedding ceremony in southern Iran.
The humanitarian organisation said the attack in Sirik, Hormozgan province, which it said killed four people including two children and injured dozens of others, could constitute a war crime.
In a letter to the ICC, published on its X account, the Iranian Red Crescent said: “Given the reported civilian character of the location as the venue of a family wedding ceremony, as well as the presence of civilians at the site, the incident raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and warrants an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation.”
It added: “Should an independent investigation establish that the wedding venue and the persons present therein were of a civilian character, that no lawful military objective was present at the location, or tha the attack was carried out without due regard for the requirements of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, the incident may constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law and, where the requisite elements are established, a war crime.”
Israel ready to respond ‘with great force’ if Iran attacks, says defence minister
The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said his military is ready to respond “with great force” if Iran attacks Israel, amid renewed fighting between the US and Iran in the Middle East.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Israeli news outlet Ynet, Katz said: “We do not want to be caught off guard; we are prepared. It must be understood: the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], including the air force, is prepared to strike in Iran.
“If they attack us, we will respond with great force, without relying on anyone.”
He added: “At the moment, we are allowing the Americans [to attack] because of their interests in the Hormuz energy corridor.
“In the meantime, they [Iran] are striking the entire region except for us. But there is a likelihood that they will indeed attack. We are prepared for this defensively.”
Iranian state media has shared video from the site of the reported attack in Sirik, southern Iran, where officials say US strikes hit a wedding ceremony in a residential area, killing four people including two children aged four and 16.
Footage reportedly filmed inside the building where the wedding took place shows a debris-strewn floor, with women’s and girls’ embellished sandals and garlands scattered among the wreckage. A separate video shows the heavily damaged building from the outside, with a large hole visible in the roof. Here is an image from the footage released by the Iranian Red Crescent:
Russia secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles – report
Russia has secretly helped Iran build supersonic cruise missiles, according to the Financial Times.
The covert programme, codenamed C340L, reportedly began in 2023 and has continued throughout the US and Israels war on Iran. The newspaper, citing Russian correspondence, travel records and military patents, reported that the programme was “one of the most significant known transfers of strategic military technology from Moscow to Tehran”.
According to the report, some of Russia’s most experienced missile specialists are helping Iran develop a ramjet propulsion system that could allow anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles to travel at several times the speed of sound, making them more difficult to detect and intercept.
Jim Lamson, a former CIA military analyst, said: “For the Iranians, this would give them a qualitatively new strategic weapon system that could threaten US navy vessels.”
Fabian Hinz, an expert on Iranian missiles and senior analyst with Conflict Armament Research, told the Financial Times that such a programme “would require political clearance from the very top in Russia”.
Julia Kollewe
Ryanair has warned that air fares in Europe will jump next year if the oil price remains high and that some airlines could go bust.
The Irish budget carrier has cut its passenger target for the year to 31 March, down from 216 million customers to 214 million, to help reduce its exposure to “unhedged winter oil” during the unprofitable off season, with jet fuel currently trading at $140 (£104) a barrel.
Ryanair expects passenger numbers between November and March to be broadly flat compared with the same period last year.
The company said: “If high oil prices continue through to summer 2027, Ryanair believes short-haul air fares in Europe will increase materially to reflect higher oil prices, as some less well-hedged competitors will struggle to maintain capacity or even survive this coming winter season.”
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, touched $97.04 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest since late July, after renewed clashes between the US and Iran fuelled concerns over supply. It later eased back to just below $95.
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Two people killed in Monday attack on Saudi oil tanker in Hormuz strait, shipping firm says
Two seafarers were killed in an attack on a Saudi Arabia-flagged oil tanker as it transited the strait of Hormuz, a shipping company has confirmed.
The crude carrier Sidr was struck by unknown projectiles on Monday about 16.6 nautical miles (19 miles) north-east of Khasab, Oman, Reuters reported, citing shipping tracking data.
Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company, Bahri, said two Filipino seafarers were killed in the incident.
In a post on X this morning, Bahri said: “The company extends its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to their families, loved ones, and colleagues during this difficult time, and is providing its full support to the families and colleagues affected by the incident.”
The incident comes amid a series of attacks on commercial vessels in and around the strait of Hormuz since the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran began in February, with dozens of attacks and a number of seafarers killed.
Brent crude oil price hits $97
Graeme Wearden
Oil has hit its highest level in almost six weeks today, after the US and Iran exchanged airstrikes.
Brent crude traded as high as $97 a barrel, for the first time since 24 July, having jumped by 4.6% yesterday.
ING analysts told clients:
Developments in recent days brought risks to regional oil supplies back into focus … We’ve seen oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz despite the stalemate between the US and Iran, but rising tensions clearly put crossings at risk.”
For the latest updates on the financial markets and the world economy, you can follow our business live blog here:
Pakistan said it remains engaged with Iran and US on talks to end war
Pakistan said it remains engaged in diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East as it urged the warring parties to return to the negotiating table.
“Pakistan remains engaged, alongside our brotherly countries, in sincere efforts to resolve the crisis with respects to the standoff between Iran and the United States,” the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said in a press briefing.
He said the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, met the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where Sharif “reiterated Pakistan’s sincere commitment to peace through dialogue and diplomacy”.
Andrabi added: “We underscored that the understanding reached under the Islamabad MoU [memorandum of understanding] offers the most viable pathway towards lasting peace and stability in the region.”
The June memorandum of understanding signed in the Pakistan capital declared an end to the fighting, but it left some of the more contentious issues unresolved, leading to a wider 60-day period of negotiations that ultimately expired without a further deal.
IRGC says four personnel killed in US attack
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said four of its personnel were killed in a US attack in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah, according to state media.
The group said the four named personnel were members of the aerospace force in Kermanshah. It did not provide further details.
Iran’s top negotiator condemns US after reported fatal attack on wedding
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, has condemned the reported US attack on a wedding in the south of the country which is said to have killed two children, likening the US to “Satan”.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf listed two other US attacks in Iran in which several children were reported to have been killed, including the bombing of a school in Minab and strikes on a sports hall in Lamerd.
“If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it’s Satan,” Ghalibaf said.
We have some pictures on the newswires which are believed to be taken in Sirik, southern Iran, where state media reported a US attack killing four people at a wedding. The victims reportedly included a four-year-old boy and a 16-year-old teenager.
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
A fresh flare-up in hostilities has seen the US hit Iran with broader and more intense strikes, with Iranian state media reporting 11 people killed in overnight attacks including four people at a wedding.
A four-year-old boy was among those killed at the wedding after a series of US strikes near the Iranian southern port city of Sirik, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. The Iranian Red Crescent said more than 50 people were injured when shrapnel hit a home where the wedding was taking place in Hormozgan province. The US has yet to comment on the reports.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US military had “turned the wedding celebration of a young and respectable Sunni couple into a mourning by bombing a residential house in Sirik and reducing it to dust and blood”, according to a statement carried by state media. “In this malicious attack, nearly 70 innocent people were hit, and four of them, including a child, were martyred.”
The IRGC said it responded to the attacks with strikes on US military bases in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq’s Erbil. The group claimed that a “number” of “enemy” forces were killed and drones were destroyed in a missile and drone attack on Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, which is known to host some US troops, but this has not been confirmed by either the American or Kuwaiti military.
Kuwait said it came under missile fire and drone attacks this morning, with a fire breaking out at a residential complex in the capital. The fire was brought under control, and no casualties were reported. “Kuwaiti air defences are currently responding to hostile missile and drone attacks,” the Kuwaiti army said on X, urging citizens to follow safety instructions.
Donald Trump warned that if Iran retaliated, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level”.
“But it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social app last night.
In a subsequent post overnight, he said he was “not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table” and that he “couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement”.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” he added.
In other developments:
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In a call with Fox News, Trump reportedly reiterated that Iran would be “totally wiped out” if it launches retaliatory strikes against the US. “This is a very big hit today. If it goes a third time, they’re going to be totally wiped out as a country,” Fox News quoted the US president as saying. Trump has previously threatened to bomb Iran “back to the stone ages”, and said in April that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if a peace deal wasn’t reached.
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IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi said in a post on X that the US will face “severe punishment” and that it “will regret its new attacks”.
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Jordan’s army said that 10 out of 13 Iranian ballistic missiles were intercepted and the other three fell in remote areas. It followed claims from the IRGC that it had killed “a large number of US forces”, while destroying “several installations and enemy attack helicopters” in a ballistic attack on US Marines’ barracks at Camp Titin, a military site near Aqaba. Reuters and Al Jazeera have since both reported, citing US sources, that there were no injuries or damage to the barracks.
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This phase of fighting began when the US military said it had struck rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait of Hormuz on Sunday, in its first strikes on Iran since July, after it detected the Iranians were planning to deploy fresh mines in the critical waterway. Tehran responded by launching missiles at US sites in Jordan, which were intercepted, and the UAE, which said it had stopped an Iranian drone over its territorial waters.
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Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said that if the US returns to a peace deal aimed at ending months of hostilities, Iran “will immediately take reciprocal action”, according to the Iranian presidency’s website. He also thanked Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for Moscow’s stance on the conflict. Putin and Pezeshkian held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, attended by over a dozen leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
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