Iran Holds Funeral for Wedding Victims After U.S. Airstrike, Launches Missile Attack on Kuwait Base
Iran conducted a funeral for four people killed in a U.S. airstrike that struck a wedding venue and subsequently fired missiles and drones at a U.S. installation in Kuwait.
Iranian mourners gathered Thursday in the coastal village of Kuhestak, Sirik County, to bury four victims of a U.S. airstrike that struck a home during a wedding ceremony, officials said. The strike, which Iranian authorities reported killed four people and injured about 70, prompted Tehran to launch missiles and drones overnight at a U.S. base in Kuwait.
The funeral featured a flag-draped coffin and a procession past soldiers standing at attention. A reporter for Iran's Mehr news agency identified one of the deceased as a four-year-old child, describing the victim as a "martyr" in footage released by the agency.
The United States said the strikes targeted military facilities along the Strait of Hormuz and that it was aware of Iranian claims but does not target civilians. Washington had carried out the airstrikes on Tuesday in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the strait.
Kuwait's military reported that its air defenses intercepted the incoming missiles and drones. No further major attacks from either side were reported later that day.
The escalation follows a series of U.S. strikes on Iranian positions in Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain earlier in the week, which Iran said were in response to attacks on shipping. Oil prices have risen amid the heightened tensions, with Brent crude futures exceeding $96 a barrel.