US Admits Targeting IRGC During Wedding Ceremony in Sirik, Iran
Tensions in the Middle East have risen sharply after the United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the launch of strikes against targets belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iranian territory. The attacks have triggered a fierce reaction from Tehran, particularly following reports of civilian casualties during a wedding ceremony.
The Deputy Governor of Hormozgan Province, Ahmad Nafess, provided an initial assessment stating that at least four people were killed and 50 others injured as a result of the strikes at the wedding venue. Based on preliminary data gathered from local authorities and Iranian state media, the attacks were spread across several strategic points and residential areas.
On Wednesday (2/9), the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, asserted via a post on the X platform that the figures are even more alarming, with more than 50 men, women, and children killed or injured. He stated that Tehran would respond “firmly” to what he described as an attack on residential homes in the Sirik District. According to Iranian claims, the location was being used for a wedding ceremony when the attack occurred.
Baqaei stated that this incident adds to the “list of atrocities” committed by the United States against the Iranian people. He also levelled sharp criticism against the international community, which he deemed passive in responding to the strikes. “Their silence is not neutrality,” Baqaei emphasised. He warned that international parties or institutions attempting to justify the attacks would not be immune to future consequences.
At present, the situation in southern Iran is reported to remain tense as efforts continue to evacuate victims from the explosion sites. While the US maintains that the strikes were specifically aimed at IRGC infrastructure, the reports of civilian casualties in Sirik have become a critical flashpoint in the escalation of this conflict.
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran of even more terrible attacks and the threat of national destruction should Tehran retaliate against US airstrikes. In response to the US strikes in Hormozgan, the IRGC has launched retaliatory attacks against US bases in Jordan and Bahrain. Iran has sworn to provide a decisive response following the strikes in Sirik that struck a wedding and caused dozens of casualties.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has sanctioned 10 individuals within a money-transfer network responsible for moving hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah and the IRGC in Lebanon, Turkey, and the UAE. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi asserted that Iran has prepared next-generation, high-precision weaponry should hostilities in the Middle East break out again.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged peace negotiations as US-Iran tensions peak, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticised the UN’s failure to prevent aggression.