Fresh concerns over civilian casualties have emerged following a renewed escalation in the war between Iran and the United States, after Iranian authorities reported that 18 people were killed and 108 wounded in U.S. strikes across the country.Health Minister said the casualties were recorded following Tuesday night’s U.S. strikes, while the Iranian Red Crescent reported that four people were killed and 67 wounded at a wedding ceremony near the coast of the Strait of Hormuz.
The reported strike on the wedding has intensified concerns over the impact of the conflict on civilians. The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of civilian casualties, including the reported strike on the wedding ceremony, and called for an immediate cessation of military action.
Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said the UN chief condemned all attacks against civilians and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.
The renewed fighting has also heightened tensions across the Middle East. they launched missile and drone attacks against what it described as U.S. assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. Kuwait’s military reported further missile and drone attacks early Thursday, saying they were intercepted by its air-defence systems.
The latest hostilities follow a period of relative calm since the previous exchange in July, although peace talks have failed to advance. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened further military action against Iran as the conflict continues to generate domestic opposition and contribute to higher gasoline prices in the United States.
Iran has remained defiant despite suffering significant military and economic losses. The United States, meanwhile, has reported 18 military personnel killed and more than 750 wounded.
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“We are aware of reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Central Command, said in an email.
The latest reported deaths come amid a much larger toll documented in Iran earlier in the conflict. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an independent Iranian rights group, had documented 3,636 deaths in Iran as of April 7, including 1,701 civilians. That figure is an earlier documented total and does not represent the current death toll.
The wedding incident has also revived attention on an earlier strike at a girls’ school in Minab, where 160 people were killed on the first day of the war. The Pentagon has yet to release an official finding on the incident, while sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that outdated targeting data may have contributed to the strike.
The conflict is also threatening global energy supplies, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that previously carried about 20% of the world’s oil supply.
