Iran Red Crescent urges ICC probe into US strike

TEHRAN, Sep 3: The Iranian Red Crescent Society has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate a missile attack by the United States that hit a wedding party in the southern town of Kuhestak, killing at least four people and wounding dozens.

In a letter to the court on Wednesday, the humanitarian group said the attack warrants “an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation” given the “civilian character of the location”.

The strike, which took place at 9:30pm local time (18:00 GMT) on Tuesday, killed at least four people and wounded 67, the group said, warning that the number of deaths may increase “given the critical condition of some of the injured”.

At least four people were killed, including a child, and 50 wounded at the wedding gathering in Sirik in the south. At least 18 people were killed and 142 injured in recent days in US air attacks, the Health Ministry said.

Those killed were two women and two children, aged four and 16. An Iranian official said most of the wounded were also women and children.

The Red Crescent said the attack could amount to a “war crime”, noting that international law prohibits directing attacks against civilians or civilian objects, or launching a strike while knowing it could cause disproportionate civilian harm.

AFP adds, Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi vowed on Thursday to avenge the four people killed at a wedding ceremony in the south, which Iran has blamed on the US.

"The pure blood of these oppressed martyrs...  will not go unanswered and will definitely be avenged," Vahidi said in a statement carried by state television.

The strike hit Tuesday night in the coastal town of Kuhestak along the Strait of Hormuz after the United States announced attacks against targets belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian authorities said the strike killed at least four people, including a child, and wounded 68 others at the wedding. Iranian officials called the attack a "war crime".

Washington did not address the attack directly, but a US Central Command spokesperson said "the US military never targets civilians".�"Agencies