Terrorizing civilians part of ‘cowardly’ US military doctrine: IRGC

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the US military deliberately targets civilians to spread fear and intimidation, calling such attacks part of the “cowardly” doctrine of the American armed forces, following a deadly strike against a wedding ceremony in southern Iran.

“Today, it has become clear to the nations of the world that attacking civilians to create fear and terror is part of the doctrine of the cowardly US army,” the IRGC said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement followed the deadly US strike in Kouhestak, in Sirik County, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.

The IRGC described the September 1 attack as an “unforgettable war crime,” saying the US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out a direct airstrike on a wedding celebration held for a local family.

The attack killed five civilians, including a four-year-old child, and wounded more than 70 others.

The IRGC said the attack had drawn reactions from people, media outlets and “free figures” around the world, including some US media organizations.

Following reactions from the public, media outlets and free figures around the world, even some US media, the “child-killing” American military and officials have issued several statements and remarks seeking to deny any deliberate targeting in the attack, it noted.

The IRGC added that US officials have repeatedly made the “ridiculous” claim that American forces did not target civilians while the military “savagery” in targeting civilians is part of a repeated pattern.

It emphasized that the shame of the latest US crime against Iran will never be erased from the record of those leading the White House.

The force urged US leaders to answer the international public for their “black record” of attacks on wedding ceremonies in different countries, asking whether all those incidents could have been accidental or the result of mistakes.

The statement cited a series of US attacks on wedding ceremonies in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen over the past two decades that resulted in significant civilian casualties.

The IRGC cited a series of US attacks on wedding ceremonies in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen in the past two decades, saying they caused heavy civilian casualties, including more than 100 deaths in Afghanistan in 2002, 42 in Iraq in 2004, 47 in Afghanistan in 2008, and 37, including 23 children, later that year. It also cited an attack in Afghanistan in 2012 that killed 18 people, including nine children, and a 2015 strike on a wedding in Yemen that it said killed 131 women and children.

“Is it possible that all these incidents were accidental and happened by mistake?” the statement asked.

The IRGC said US leaders, instead of apologizing, have once again resorted to lies and are avoiding accountability as in the cases of the crimes in the Minab school massacre, the attack on a sports stadium in Lamerd and an airstrike on a residential building on southern Qeshm Island in Iran.

It emphasized that Iran possesses military power and carried out retaliation by killing “bloodthirsty terrorists” from CENTCOM the previous night.

The IRGC warned, “If the American people do not stop this savage, child-killing army, they should fear the day when the time for the oppressed to take revenge arrives.”

Health minister says 18 people killed in latest US strikes on Iran

Iran’s Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi says 18 people were killed in the US strikes that hit several provinces on Tuesday.

In a short statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Health Ministry said 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in the US strikes that hit several provinces on Tuesday.

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