The aftermath of a US strike on a wedding venue in Kouhestak, Sirik, Iran. Photo: PressTV/file photo.
The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that the blood of those killed in a US attack on a wedding ceremony in Kouhestak, Hormozgan Province, “will never go unanswered” and that it will ultimately “catch up with those who ordered and carried out this heinous crime.”
In a message addressed to the families of the victims on Thursday, Vahidi expressed his condolences over the attack on a wedding ceremony in the deprived Kouhestak region, stressing that the IRGC and Iran’s other armed forces would continue to safeguard the country’s security and stability.
“The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have stood guard over the sanctity of the blood of these dear ones and other martyrs of Iran’s national power in the second and third US-Zionist imposed wars, particularly the Battle of Hormuz,” Vahidi said.
The US military bombed the wedding ceremony in Kouhestak, in Hormozgan Province’s Sirik County, at around 8 p.m. Tuesday. The attack killed five people and wounded 68 others, with a four-year-old child among those killed.
General Vahidi said Iran’s armed forces will “with the utmost power and resolve” continue to protect the security and tranquility of the Iranian people and the country.
Vahidi said the attack once again exposed the “evil and demonic face” of the United States, slamming Washington for carrying out a terrorist and inhumane act aimed at depriving Iranians of joy and creating fear among innocent civilians.
“This horrific crime, committed in the safe confines of our beloved homeland and among innocent women, men and children attending a wedding celebration, demonstrates the depth of the longstanding hostility and hatred of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic establishment,” he said.
Vahidi extended his condolences to the families of the victims, the Iranian people and Iran’s leadership, describing the incident as a “heartbreaking and tragic loss.”
“Undoubtedly, the pure blood of these oppressed martyrs, who in the height of their innocence and victimhood were brought down by the criminals of history and the evil-doers of our time, will never go unanswered and will certainly catch up with those who carried out and ordered this horrific crime,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Interests Protection Office in Cairo described the incident as a “war crime” and an apparent violation of international laws and conventions.
In a statement issued Thursday, the office said, “The horrific crime committed by the US regime in bombing a residential building in the Kouhestak area of Sirik once again showed the world the true and brutal face of this aggressor regime.”
It added that more than 70 women, men and children were killed or wounded in the attack.
The Iranian office described the incident as “a clear example of a war crime and an overt violation of international laws and conventions,” including Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol I concerning the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, and provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
“Deliberately targeting a civilian wedding ceremony is not only a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, but also demonstrates the complete moral and humanitarian collapse of the rulers of the White House,” the statement said.
The Iranian mission strongly condemned the “heinous crime” and called on the international community, particularly the United Nations and the Security Council, not to remain silent over an apparent war crime.
It urged the international community to take “immediate and effective measures” to halt US aggression and hold those responsible to account.
“We stress that this crime and similar crimes will never be erased from the historical memory of the Iranian people,” the statement said, adding that the Iranian government would pursue the case through its diplomatic and legal capacities in international forums and seek to hold those responsible accountable.
(PressTV)
