Iran’s latest escalation with the United States has renewed concerns over the civilian toll of the conflict after Tehran reported 18 deaths in the latest US strikes, including four people killed at a wedding ceremony.
Iran’s Health Minister said 18 people were killed and 108 others wounded in US strikes across the country on Tuesday night.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said four people were killed and 67 wounded when a wedding ceremony near the coast of the Strait of Hormuz was hit.
The renewed combat has also heightened fears of a wider regional conflict, with Iran launching missile and drone attacks against what it described as US assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq.
Kuwait’s army reported additional missile and drone attacks early Thursday, saying its air defence systems intercepted the incoming weapons.
The latest exchanges mark a sharp escalation after combat operations had largely subsided following the previous round of fighting in July, although diplomatic efforts failed to produce a breakthrough.
US President Donald Trump has threatened further military action against Iran despite growing domestic opposition to the war and its impact on fuel prices.
Four people familiar with internal discussions told Reuters that senior Trump aides are seeking to prevent the conflict from escalating ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, amid concerns that the war could worsen Republican electoral prospects.
The White House is expected to consider expanding military operations after the elections, according to the sources.
Iran, meanwhile, has remained defiant despite suffering significant military and economic losses.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of civilian casualties, particularly the reported strike on the wedding ceremony.
His spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said Guterres had called for an immediate cessation of military action.
“The Secretary-General condemns all attacks against civilians. He recalls that all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.”
The latest reported deaths would add to the civilian toll already recorded since the beginning of the conflict.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an independent Iranian rights organisation, said 3,636 people had been documented as killed in Iran as of April 7, including 1,701 civilians.
The United States has reported 18 military personnel killed and more than 750 wounded.
The US military, however, rejected claims that its forces deliberately target civilians.
“We are aware of reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said in an email.
The Iranian Red Crescent released video footage showing debris scattered beside a building with a large hole in its roof. Still images also showed people, some wearing Red Crescent vests, gathered around a damaged structure and a utility tower lying on the ground.
Reuters verified the location using satellite imagery, which showed the fallen tower was about 136 metres from the damaged building.
The reported wedding strike has also revived memories of an earlier deadly incident at a girls’ school in Minab, where a blast killed 160 people on the first day of the war.
The Pentagon has yet to release an official finding on the Minab incident, which would rank among the US military’s largest civilian casualty incidents in decades.
Two sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that the strike may have resulted from the use of outdated targeting data.
Democratic lawmakers in the United States have called on the Trump administration to release the findings of its investigation into the incident, but the report has not been provided to Congress.
Supporters of the US campaign have also pointed to civilian deaths resulting from Iran’s crackdown on street protests that swept across the country in December and January, before the United States and Israel launched their attacks on February 28.
HRANA has estimated that more than 7,000 people were killed during the protests, while Iranian exile groups have put the figure considerably higher.
Trump has cited the possibility of encouraging Iranians to overthrow their government as one of his reasons for the war, alongside efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear programme and curb its support for militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The conflict has also disrupted one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Iran has threatened oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorisation, sharply reducing maritime traffic through the waterway.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried about 20 per cent of global oil supplies, making the disruption a major concern for international energy markets.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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