Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has responded to recent comments by CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins, who stated that the US military never targets civilians.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, citing international media reports, the Iranian official challenged this assertion by referencing historical US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Baghaei specifically recalled US strikes on wedding ceremonies in Kakarak, Afghanistan (2002), Mukaradeeb, Iraq (2004), and Deh Bala and Wech Baghtu, Afghanistan (2008). He further referenced the television series "Homeland," which depicted a US strike on a wedding ceremony in Pakistan, to illustrate the grim reality of such military actions.
"The reality is so horrific that even American propaganda has not dared to do what Hawkins is putting forward today. This is not a fictional story. The deaths of civilians are real. The victims are real," Baghaei stated.
According to Iranian reports, a recent US strike in the Kuhestek region of Sirik, in the Hormozgan province, targeted a residence where a wedding ceremony was being held. The attack reportedly resulted in at least four deaths, including a four-year-old child, and left 68 others injured. In response to the incident, the US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins reiterated that the US military does not target civilians. Iran has officially characterized the strike as a "war crime."
The Hormozgan province, located in southern Iran along the Strait of Hormuz, is a strategically significant region. Tensions in the Middle East have frequently escalated due to conflicting accounts of military engagements involving international forces and regional actors, often leading to diplomatic disputes regarding the protection of civilian populations in conflict zones.
