Trump Threatens More Iran Strikes as War Death Toll Hits 18, Wedding Attack Branded a War Crime

US President Donald Trump said Washington is prepared to strike Iran "anytime we want," even as he downplayed the likelihood of a prolonged new phase of fighting, following the deadliest 24-hour stretch of the six-month war since it reignited over the weekend.

Iranian officials said the death toll from the latest wave of American strikes has climbed to 18, with more than 100 others wounded. Among the dead were two children, according to Iran's health minister, including a four-year-old killed when US forces struck a wedding gathering in the town of Kuhestak in Sirik county, along Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. At least four people were killed in that single strike.

Wedding strike draws war crime accusation

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson described the Kuhestak strike as a war crime, rejecting American assurances that its campaign avoids civilian targets. He said the scale of the devastation made the claim of precision targeting impossible to sustain, and that the victims and the destruction were undeniably real, not manufactured for propaganda purposes. Funerals for those killed in the wedding-party strike were expected to be held on Thursday, according to Iranian media reports.

Elsewhere, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said several of its personnel, including members of its aerospace force, were killed in strikes on Kermanshah province in the west of the country, part of a broader pattern of US action against Guard-linked military infrastructure since the fragile ceasefire collapsed this past weekend.

Trump downplays prolonged conflict, doubles down on threats

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump characterized the latest exchange as "a very heavy attack" that had "taken out" newly built Iranian equipment along the blockaded strait, and said the US remained ready to repeat the strikes "anytime." He separately suggested the renewed clashes would not stretch on for long, though he offered no timeline and reiterated that domestic politics, including November's midterm elections, were not shaping his approach to Iran.

Iran, for its part, retaliated with strikes across the region in recent days, targeting US-linked positions in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq, while its Guard claimed responsibility for a drone and missile strike on a base in Kuwait. Kuwaiti authorities confirmed a fire broke out near a residential complex after a drone crashed nearby but reported no casualties from that incident.

War taking a toll on oil markets and Trump's approval

The renewed fighting has pushed Brent crude prices up more than 30 percent since the conflict resumed, with the benchmark now trading near $95 a barrel, further straining global energy markets already unsettled by Iran's continued restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Independent survey data cited by international wire services shows a majority of Americans now disapprove of Washington's handling of the war, with Trump's own approval ratings sliding since fighting resumed.

Regional analysts say Iran appears to be betting that it cannot defeat the US militarily but can make the war costly enough, economically and politically, to sap American appetite for continued escalation, while the Trump administration insists it retains the upper hand over traffic through the strait despite widely reported disruptions to commercial shipping.

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