• Centcom denies targeting civilians
• Iran to employ ‘new strategy’ after latest strikes
• US president floats renaming Hormuz ‘Trump Strait’

TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Wednesday labelled a deadly US attack on a wedding ceremony in the south of the country a “war crime”.

The US attack in Sirik, southern Iran, killed four people and wounded 67.

“The truth of this unlawful war of choice — and the true face of the war crime — is in Sirik, where a wedding ceremony was brutally bombed as part of America’s desperate struggle to conceal its failure,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.

US Central Command (Centcom) denied targeting civilians, but Baqaei slammed the claim. Taking aim at Centcom spokesperson Tim Hawkins, he said the mouthpiece “has forgotten his own

military record”, listing examples of drone strikes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS), in a letter to the International Criminal Court, has called for legal action over the strike that it said constitute ‘a war crime’.

“Given the reported civilian character of the location as the venue of a family wedding ceremony, as well as the presence of civilians at the site, the incident raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and warrants an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation,” the IRCS said.

‘New strategy’

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the country would employ a ‘new strategy’ following the latest US strikes.

“You will soon see that Iran’s new strategy on the battlefield, in diplomacy and in confronting the economic blockade, will shatter your foundations,” Mr Rezaei wrote on X.

Trump hints at uprising in Iran

US President Donald Trump later told reporters that the US “hit them hard last night, very hard. They gave a little love tap, but we hit them very hard last night.” The US launched the attack “because they took a shot at us in Jordan”, he added.

In response to a question, Trump suggested Iranian people may rise up against their leaders. “I understand their plight; they’re being shot… The regime is getting weaker and weaker by the day, and at some point they’re not going to be able to shoot so easily, because people aren’t going to take it,” he said.

On his Truth Social network, Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as Trump Strait. “Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!” he stated.

It is the latest geographical name change floated by Trump and comes a week after he ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed as “Lake America” amid a trade war with Canada.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2026