Iran says strikes on US bases ‘legitimate self-defense’ after wedding massacre

Iran says the latest retaliatory strikes on US bases in the region were carried out under the “inherent right of legitimate self-defense.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the deadly Tuesday assaults by the United States as "brutal war crimes" and a "flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of international law."

The diplomatic condemnation follows a wave of US missile attacks launched late Tuesday night across several Iranian provinces, including Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, and Kerman.

Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi said on Wednesday that at least 18 people were killed and 108 others wounded in overnight attacks by the US. 

According to Iranian officials, the US targeted non-military areas and service infrastructure, including telecommunications towers, a fishing pier, a port authority building, and a fishmeal factory.

The deadliest strike was in the village of Kouhestak in Sirik County, Hormozgan Province, where a US missile struck a wedding reception.

The strike martyred and wounded more than 70 people, the vast majority of whom were women and children.

Across the broader wave of attacks, seven people were martyred in strikes near the cities of Ahvaz and Aghajari in Khuzestan.

"The US regime, frustrated by the iron will of the Iranian nation... once again violated our national sovereignty by attacking several non-military areas," the Foreign Ministry stated, drawing direct parallels to previous US-Israeli atrocities over the past 18 months, specifically citing the massacres in Minab and Lamerd.

Warning to the region and UN

Tehran used the statement to issue a warning to neighboring countries, urging them to prevent the United States from using their territory and facilities to launch aggressive operations against Iran.

The ministry cautioned regional states against allowing a "sinister US-Zionist conspiracy" to impose permanent insecurity on West Asia.

Furthermore, the Iranian Foreign Ministry called out the United Nations, particularly the Security Council and the Secretary-General, for their "silence and inaction."

The statement warned that the failure to hold a permanent member of the Security Council accountable for continuous violations of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter severely undermines the organization's credibility and threatens global peace.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed the strikes targeted Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) assets in retaliation for alleged Iranian actions against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Red Crescent calls for ICC to investigate deadly US wedding attack

The Iranian Red Crescent Society says the attack could amount to a war crime if an ICC probe finds that the wedding venue and those present were civilians.

The attacks prompted Iran’s military to launch a massive and precise counter-offensive against the origin points of the aggression.

Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the Iranian Armed Forces struck US outposts across the region using drones and missiles.

"The strikes inflicted extensive damage on infrastructure, facilities, weapons, and equipment at the bases, and killed and wounded a significant number of American commanders and troops," Colonel Zolfaghari stated.

He vowed that these offensive operations would continue "to teach them a lesson until they regret their acts of aggression."

The strike on the wedding reception drew grim comparisons from Iranian officials to the opening day of the US-Israeli war on February 28, when US Tomahawk missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, killing dozens of schoolchildren.

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