‘There was blood everywhere’: Survivors recount US strike on wedding in Iran

Maryam and Ziaeddin were meant to spend the most memorable night of their lives surrounded by their loved ones. They had no idea that their wedding would become the darkest moment of their lives and one of the most painful nights of the war for Iranians.

On the evening of Tuesday 1 September, around 350 people gathered in Kuhestak, in Sirik county, on the east coast of Iran’s Hormozgan province, for the wedding of Maryam Mallahi and Ziaeddin.

In keeping with local tradition, the celebration was held in two houses: the men gathered at a relative’s home, while the women waited at the bride’s family home. Coloured lights had been put up, the guests wore traditional clothing, and everyone was waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.

At around 9pm, as the United States launched a new wave of attacks across southern Iran, a series of explosions was heard in Kuhestak.

Initial reports indicated that a telecommunications tower and facilities near the pier had been hit. The tower stood less than 200 metres from the wedding venue. Moments later, a projectile struck the house where the women and children had gathered, tearing through its roof.

Majid, 41, was at the men’s gathering nearby. His wife and five-year-old child were both wounded.

“We were talking to some of the other guests when suddenly we heard a terrifying sound,” he told Middle East Eye. “At first, we thought it was an earthquake. We panicked and ran outside.

“We rushed towards the bride’s house and saw smoke and fire everywhere. I pulled my wife and my five-year-old child from beneath the rubble. Screams were coming from every direction. There was blood everywhere, and everyone was desperately trying to help the wounded.”

Ali Mallahi, the bride’s father and the owner of the house, said he heard a second and then a third explosion and realised the sounds appeared to be coming from the direction of his home.

‘Everyone was screaming. Everyone was calling for help. Nobody knew what had happened. I was trapped beneath the rubble’

– Mina, wedding guest

“The first explosion completely destroyed the single-storey house and left it uninhabitable,” he said. “The second struck the courtyard, damaging a car and other parts of the property. The house is not a home any more. It is gone.”

One of the projectiles pierced the roof and left a crater about 1.5 metres deep in the floor of one of the rooms, according to a news report.

Mina, one of the guests, was among the women trapped inside. She was later taken to Abolfazl Hospital in the nearby city of Minab.

“We were eating ice cream,” she told MEE. “You know, the weather is still very hot in Hormozgan at this time of year. We were waiting for the bride and groom to arrive when suddenly we heard a terrifying explosion somewhere near the house.”

She said a second explosion struck the house soon afterwards and tore a hole through the roof.

“Bricks and pieces of the ceiling and walls suddenly came down on us,” she said. “Everyone was screaming. Everyone was calling for help. Nobody knew what had happened. I was trapped beneath the rubble. I was lucky to survive.”

Zahra, 19, was another of those wounded.

“Every carpet in the house was stained with blood,” she told MEE. “The shoes, the serving dishes and the lights they had put up for the wedding all had blood on them.”

Pulling survivors from the rubble

Residents began searching for survivors before emergency teams reached the house.

A Red Crescent worker who arrived with his colleagues minutes after the attack said those who had escaped the building and people from surrounding homes were already trying to free the injured.

“People who had been inside the building, as well as others who had seen the attack from outside, were already trying to pull the wounded and survivors from beneath the rubble,” the rescuer, who asked not to be named, told MEE.

‘Amir Mohammad was supposed to start preschool in just a few days... Now his parents have to attend his funeral. The grief is unbearable’

– Fatemeh, wedding guest

“They were so terrified that we had to spend some of our time and energy calming them down. Of course they were terrified. This was a real tragedy. It took only a few moments for their wedding to turn into mourning.”

Fifteen ambulances were sent to the area. Most were taken to hospitals in Sirik and Minab, with several of the most seriously wounded admitted directly to intensive care.

Iranian officials initially reported two deaths and about 50 injuries. The death toll later rose to four: 50-year-old Zarkhatoun Taheri, 43-year-old Kolsoum Mallahi-Nezhadnia, 16-year-old Mohammad Mallahi and four-year-old Amir Mohammad Karimi.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Asieh Molaeinejad died in hospital, bringing the death toll to five.

A total of 68 people were wounded, according to provincial authorities. Hormozgan’s emergency services said 19 of them were children under the age of 10.

Fatemeh, another guest who suffered relatively minor injuries, knew Amir Mohammad and his family.

“Amir Mohammad was supposed to start preschool in just a few days, when the new school year began,” she told MEE. “Now his parents have to attend his funeral. The grief is unbearable.”

Washington 'investigating' attack

It is still unclear exactly what kind of weapon hit the house. Some witnesses interviewed by MEE believed it was a missile, while others spoke of drones. No official account has yet established precisely how the attack was carried out.

Razieh Alishvandi, the Iranian Red Crescent’s deputy for international and humanitarian affairs, described the incident as a projectile striking a residential home during a wedding.

Everyone interviewed by MEE said the building was entirely residential and that there were no military, security or intelligence facilities nearby.

The attack on Kuhestak was part of a broader wave of strikes across Hormozgan and other areas of southern Iran that night. Iranian officials reported attacks or explosions in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Jask, Sirik, Konarak and Chabahar.

In Kuhestak, the telecommunications tower, parts of the pier and electricity and communications infrastructure were also damaged. Mobile phone and internet services were temporarily cut in Kuhestak and the nearby village of Mishi.

For residents of Hormozgan, the attack brought back memories of the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab on 28 February that killed 156 people, most of them children, the first day of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

‘She had dreamed about this night for so long... Now her mental state is so fragile that we honestly do not know how she will cope with this tragedy’

– A friend of the bride

US officials have not said what the precise target in Kuhestak was.

US Central Command said the strikes that night targeted Iranian radar and communications facilities and maritime capabilities, adding that the US military does not target civilians. US Vice-President JD Vance later said Washington was investigating the incident.

Maryam and Ziaeddin survived because neither had reached the house when it was hit. The guests were still waiting for the young couple to arrive, but everyone killed or wounded was a relative, friend or acquaintance of theirs.

A friend of Maryam’s, who asked not to be named, said the bride was still in deep shock.

“Maryam is in a very bad state – very, very bad,” she told MEE. “She had dreamed about this night for so long. She wanted to celebrate the beginning of her married life with her family and friends. Now her mental state is so fragile that we honestly do not know how she will cope with this tragedy.”