US missile strike hits wedding home in Iran, killing civilians

A U.S. missile hit a residence in the coastal town of Kuhestak, Iran, during a wedding celebration, killing two women and two children and injuring more than 60 people, Iranian state media and a local human-rights group said. The strike occurred amid a series of U.S. attacks that the Pentagon says are aimed at air-defence systems, radar installations and maritime targets in the Strait of Hormuz region.

The homeowner, fisherman Ali Mallahi, told state television that a missile destroyed the ceiling of his house and that a second missile hit a neighboring home. Video released by Iranian media showed a crater, collapsed walls and debris, including shoes belonging to wedding guests.

"Blocks were falling and hitting people’s heads. And many small children and women that were there were terribly injured. So many," said a man shown in a Red Crescent video, describing the scene at a hospital in Minab where victims were treated.

Iranian officials reported that a communications tower and a pier at the nearby port were also struck. A 16-year-old boy was killed by shrapnel near the tower, according to the Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network.

U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the military is reviewing the reports but did not confirm a formal investigation. An independent weapons analyst identified fragments of the ordnance as consistent with a U.S. air-delivered guided weapon, possibly a JSOW or SLAM-ER missile, though the U.S. declined to comment on the assessment.