Iran Buries Wedding Strike Victims, Claims Attack on US Base in Kuwait
Iran buried victims of a reported US strike on a wedding, and says it attacked a US base in Kuwait, after the war's biggest escalation in a month.
Iranian mourners gathered on Thursday outside the village of Kuhestak in Sirik County to bury four people, including a four-year-old child, who officials say were killed in a U.S. airstrike that hit a wedding party late on Tuesday. The U.S. military has said it was aware of the reports but never targets civilians.
Footage from the funeral showed a flag-draped coffin on a pickup truck beneath palm fronds, with mourners tossing petals into the air as soldiers stood at attention. The reported strike was part of a wave of heavy U.S. bombardments along the Strait of Hormuz coast, which Washington said were aimed at military targets in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping.
Iran reported 18 dead in the assault, including the four at the wedding. In response, Tehran launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain on Wednesday, followed by further strikes early Thursday targeting a base in Kuwait. Kuwait's military said its air defences intercepted the missiles and drones.
The escalation, the most significant in over a month, briefly pushed Brent crude futures above $96 a barrel. The flare-up appeared to subside later in the day, with no major attacks reported from either side.
The violence follows a largely quiet August after U.S. President Donald Trump halted intensive airstrikes in July. The U.S. campaign, launched in February, has yet to achieve its stated aims of ending Iran's nuclear programme or changing its leadership, while Iran's economy continues to suffer under a U.S. blockade.