Iran strikes U.S. allies across the Gulf as Washington denies hitting wedding party in Hormozgan
Iran's military said it struck several U.S. ally bases across the Middle East overnight Wednesday, retaliating for the latest American airstrikes on Iranian targets. The exchange has jolted a region already on edge after months of war, with oil prices climbing and diplomatic efforts appearing to collapse.
Tehran accused Washington of bombing a wedding party in the southern province of Hormozgan on Tuesday evening, claiming more than 50 people were killed or wounded. Iranian state television later put the casualty figure at just under 70, saying at least four people died and six were in critical condition. The report quoted a local fisherman, identified as Mr. Malahi, who said the celebration was for his daughter. One missile, according to the broadcaster, tore through the roof of the room where the party was held, leaving a five-foot crater in the floor, while another struck a palm tree in the courtyard and destroyed a wall of the home.
The U.S. military did not confirm the strike. Central Command spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins told CBS News: “We're aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.” The response echoed similar denials the Pentagon has issued throughout the conflict, even as independent investigations have raised questions about specific incidents, including a deadly blast at a school in Minab that U.S. intelligence privately assessed may have been an error based on outdated targeting data.
The Iranian foreign ministry was blunt. Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X that the home in Kuhestak, in Hormozgan’s Sirik district, “was brutally attacked tonight while families were celebrating a wedding. More than 50 innocent men, women and children were martyred or wounded.” He described the purported strike as part of a “chain of atrocities” and warned that “those who remain silent today will not be immune to its consequences tomorrow.”
Overnight, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s central military command issued a series of statements claiming to have hit at least seven military sites where U.S. forces are based or have been based. Those included Camp Tabrin and Prince Hassan Base in Jordan, Erbil in northern Iraq, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, a U.S. naval facility in Bahrain, and the Al Dhafra and Al Minhad bases in the UAE. The IRGC claimed multiple U.S. personnel were killed in a ballistic missile strike on Camp Tabrin, but a U.S. official denied that and Central Command noted the camp is not an American base. The U.S. military has no permanent bases in Jordan, although Jordanian facilities such as Muwaffaq Salti Air Base have hosted U.S. forces and have been targeted before. In July, three American soldiers were killed there in an Iranian missile attack.
There was no independent confirmation that Iranian weapons struck any of the base sites. Bahrain’s state news agency said drones were intercepted, and Jordan’s military reported detecting 13 ballistic missiles, intercepting ten, with three landing in remote areas and causing no casualties. Kuwait’s fire brigade said a blaze set off by a hostile drone in a residential complex in Kuwait City was brought under control without injuries.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard also said Wednesday that two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz, outside a route designated by Iranian forces. The Guard accused the vessels of trying to transit through an “illegal route” at the urging of the U.S. military. Shipping traffic through the strait, a vital corridor for global crude supplies, has been severely restricted since the war began, and tanker insurance premiums have soared.
The renewed hostilities hit energy markets immediately. Brent crude traded just below $96 a barrel for November delivery on Tuesday night before easing to about $95 Wednesday morning. West Texas Intermediate hovered above $90. Both benchmarks have risen 1% to 2% a day since fighting resumed over the weekend, putting them roughly 40% higher than a year ago. Analysts say the return to direct U.S.-Iran strikes has dimmed what little hope remained that the war might soon wind down.
President Trump, who has careened between calls for regime change and attempts at negotiation, sought to project strength. In a Truth Social post Tuesday he renewed his appeal for Iranians to “rise up and fight,” saying the Iranian regime’s economy is “totally collapsing” and that he “couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.” He first urged Iranians to rise up hours after the war began in late February, then later backed away from calling for regime change, saying he “never cared” about it. He has also at times praised elements of Tehran’s leadership as “very rational,” but on Tuesday he told Fox News’ Trey Yingst that an agreement with Iran “isn't worth the paper it's written on.”
The U.S. military said the latest round of strikes on Iran was complete. In a statement, Central Command said it had struck IRGC air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites.
Iranian state media, meanwhile, reported that IRGC forces had fired on U.S. allies in part to avenge the deaths of senior commanders killed earlier in the war. The strategy, analysts note, appears designed to pressure Washington by hitting partners hosting U.S. troops, while avoiding direct confirmation of American casualties that would trigger a wider escalation.
The incident threatens to further destabilize the region. Jordan, a key U.S. ally, has said it was subjected to a missile attack originating from Iranian territory — the second such attack in recent days. Arab Gulf states have tried to stay out of the conflict, but repeated drone and missile overflights have forced them into an uneasy defensive posture. Diplomatic efforts, which were already faltering, have all but stalled. “More dangerous than the bomb itself is the normalization of bombing,” Baqaei wrote, “and more dangerous than silence is the conversion of silence into legitimacy.”