US strikes on Iran kill 18, injure 142; Vance says wedding party attack under investigation

US strikes against Iran between August 30 and September 2 killed at least 18 people and injured 142 others, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.

Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry’s public relations department, said in a post on X on Thursday that the casualties resulted from the latest US attacks.

Among those killed were six members of the Iranian Navy, including three pilots, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency. The report identified the pilots as Mojtaba Baqeri, Hamed Okati and Hossein Mahdavian.

The United States launched a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on Tuesday night. Iran later retaliated by targeting US bases and assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq’s Kurdistan region and the United Arab Emirates.

Iranian officials said the US strikes also hit a wedding party in southern Iran, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others. Iranian media reported that a missile struck a house where people had gathered for the wedding of a fisherman’s daughter.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday described the strike as "a desperate US attempt to hide its defeat."

US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Washington was investigating the reported civilian casualties from the wedding party strike.

"We’re investigating it because obviously we care. We want to know," Vance said at a White House press briefing.

Vance also said the United States would not engage in negotiations with Iran as long as attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz continue.

A day after the overnight strikes, US President Donald Trump said the US military was prepared to launch further attacks against Iran "any time we want." Iran has vowed to retaliate and accused Washington of targeting civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and Israel continued to escalate. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that if Iran attacks Israel, Israel would target all Iranian infrastructure, including energy facilities. He added that Israel was fully prepared for both defensive and offensive operations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that overthrowing Iran’s government had become a central Israeli objective and was "within reach."

"I am convinced of our ability to remove this threat once and for all. That means toppling this regime," Netanyahu told Israel’s military general staff at a Jewish New Year event in Tel Aviv.

(With input from Xinhua)