US strikes on Iran leave 18 dead, 68 injured

The death toll from US strikes on Iran has risen to 18, with 68 injured. In Kuhestak village, Hormozgan province, a wedding hall was targeted, killing four and wounding 68; 50 of the wounded remain hospitalized. Missiles hitting three locations in Khuzestan province killed seven more and injured eight. Four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air force members died in Kermanshah province, and three Basij militiamen were killed on Lavan Island.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei described the wedding attack as 'barbarism,' comparing it to the February school bombing in Minab (168 dead). Baghaei warned that 'more dangerous than the normalization of bombing is the legitimization of silence,' vowing a harsh response. The US struck Iran for the second time in 48 hours, targeting IRGC sites, citing Iranian 'attack attempts' on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on US troops. Iran retaliated with strikes on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.

Tensions began a month ago when the US first struck Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran turned the strait into a pressure lever by halting nearly all oil exports and conditioning passage permission. In recent weeks, the US managed to partially revive some maritime traffic via a southern route near Oman.