Iran launches strikes on US military sites as Washington investigates deadly wedding attack

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT: Iran has escalated its response to the US military campaign, saying it struck US military assets in Kuwait and the UAE on Thursday, September 3.

Tehran said the attacks were in retaliation for a deadly strike on a wedding that it accused Washington of carrying out, while US Vice President JD Vance said the incident was being investigated.

The latest clashes have added to the tension in the six-month conflict, with Iran maintaining control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz as Washington continues its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran says it struck US military bases in Kuwait and UAE

Kuwait's army said it intercepted a missile and drone attack from Iran on Thursday. Iran's army, meanwhile, said it hit US assets at the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base “with missiles and drones.”

Kuwait described the strikes as a “grave breach of the rules of international law.” Iran's army also said it struck Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, although the UAE did not report such an attack.

The strikes came after the Iranian Red Crescent said a missile attack on a wedding in the coastal town of Kuhestak on Tuesday night killed at least four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50 others attending the celebration.

JD Vance says US is investigating the wedding strike

Vance said Washington was looking into the reported wedding attack but questioned the information coming from Iran.

“I know that we're investigating,” Vance told a White House briefing. “I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what's happened in the conflict thus far. So I'm extremely sceptical of this.”

Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi vowed that the deaths would not go unanswered.

“The pure blood of these oppressed martyrs will not go unanswered,” Vahidi said on Thursday.

US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins rejected the suggestion that the US intentionally targeted civilians. “The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” Hawkins said.

Iran and US remain locked in escalating clashes

US bombardment of targets across Iran has killed at least 19 people over the past week.

An Iranian state-run news agency also reported Thursday that six members of Iran's naval forces were killed in US attacks this week, although it was unclear whether they were included in the reported 19 deaths.

Iran has responded with strikes across the Middle East, saying it targeted US bases and forces in Washington-allied countries including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Vance, however, said he “wouldn't call it a war,” arguing that “right now, there is no active shooting.” He described the latest exchanges as “flare-ups” and said the active firing phase had lasted roughly six weeks.