Iranian Media Claims Rejected: ‘U.S. Military Does Not Target Civilians,’ CENTCOM Says

Washington / Tehran (Terror Monitor) — The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has said it is aware of reports that a U.S. strike hit a wedding ceremony in Iran, while maintaining that American forces do not target civilians.

CENTCOM spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins reiterated the position in comments to the BBC, saying the U.S. military was aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media.

“We are aware of the reports, the source of which is Iranian state media,” Hawkins said. “The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

The statement came after Iranian authorities claimed that fragments from a U.S. missile struck a house in southern Iran where a wedding ceremony was reportedly taking place.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said four people were killed in the overnight attack. Iranian media reported that two children were among those killed and that 67 people were injured.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei shared a video on the social media platform X showing the aftermath of an attack on a house. Iranian authorities alleged that a wedding ceremony was being held there when it was hit by a U.S. missile.

Baghaei said the incident had revealed what he described as the reality of the “illegal U.S. war” against Iran, adding that the video showed what he called “the real face of a war crime.”

The U.S. military has rejected the allegation that it targeted civilians, but CENTCOM did not provide further details about the reported strike or clarify whether the house was among the intended targets.

IRGC Reports Deaths Among Its Forces

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ public relations department confirmed that four members of the IRGC Aerospace Force were killed in U.S. attacks in Iran’s Kermanshah province.

No further details were immediately released by the IRGC.

Following the U.S. strikes, the deputy governor of Kermanshah had said that no part of the province had been targeted.

Iranian media also reported that the deputy commander of the Seyyed al-Shuhada Corps in Diyar said three Basij members were killed and several others wounded in an attack on Lavan Island.

Seven Reported Killed in Khuzestan

A local official in Iran’s Khuzestan province said seven people were killed and eight others wounded at three locations following U.S. strikes overnight.

According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Valiollah Hayati, the provincial deputy official for security and law enforcement affairs, said U.S. airstrikes on Tuesday night targeted the cities of Ahvaz and Aghajari.

Reports of similar attacks also emerged from several areas of the coastal province of Hormozgan.

According to Iranian officials, an attack during a wedding ceremony in the village of Dahestak in Sirik County killed at least five civilians, including a child, and wounded more than 60 others.

The claims by Iranian authorities and the U.S. military’s account remain sharply at odds. Iran says civilians and civilian gatherings were hit in the strikes, while CENTCOM maintains that U.S. forces do not deliberately target civilians.

The reported casualties and details of the individual strikes could not immediately be independently verified.