Iran leadership showing signs of split over future of conflict with USpublished at 13:48 BST

13:48 BST

Jiyar Gol
BBC World Affairs Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Gauging the Iranian public’s reaction to the renewed escalation between the United States and Iran is difficult. Many Iranians are afraid to express their views openly for fear of persecution.

But among those who dare to speak out, there is considerable anger towards the authorities, with many blaming the government for dragging the country into a war with the world’s most powerful military.

Meanwhile, the country’s military leadership remains defiant. The IRGC has warned regional governments of dangerous consequences if they allow the United States to use their territory to launch attacks against Iran.

Hardliners are also demanding continued attacks on US bases and interests across the region and opposing further negotiations.

But yesterday President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a different tone, saying Iran is prepared to return to negotiations if Washington returns to the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in June.

That contrast points to a growing debate within Iran’s leadership over the way forward: Renewed diplomacy with Washington or continued military confrontation.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, denouncing US strikes that reportedly hit a wedding ceremony in southern Iran.

In its letter, the Red Crescent says four people, including one child, were killed as a result of the air strike. A further 67 people are injured, it adds.

The IRCS says the strike took place around 21:30 local time (19:00 BST) on Tuesday, when a wedding ceremony was under way in Kuhestak, Sirik county.

"Given the critical condition of some of the injured, the number of fatalities may increase," it adds in a statement shared on Telegram.

As the wedding was a civilian event, the IRCS says it raises concerns under international humanitarian law and "warrants an independent, impartial, thorough, and effective investigation".

• As a reminder, the US military has acknowledged reports of the strike but says it never targets civilians

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei describes the ongoing conflict as an “unlawful war of choice”.

In a post on X, he shares footage of the aftermath of an alleged US strike on a house hosting a wedding ceremony - saying that "the truth of America's illegal war against Iran was revealed last night".

In a further post, Baqaei adds that the video shows "the true face of the war crime".

The Iranian Red Crescent has said four people - including a child - were killed at a wedding celebration when shrapnel from a US missile hit a house in southern Iran.

The US military has said it's aware of reports about the strike but it never targets civilians.

Image source, Reuetrs

• 28 February 2026 - The US and Israel begin large-scale strikes on Iran, killing the country's supreme leader. Tehran attacks Israeli and US allies across the Gulf
• 1 March -Iran restricts commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz
• 8 March - Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is chosen as his successor
• 7 April - Iran and the US agree to a conditional two-week ceasefire, during which shipping traffic will be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz
• 21 April - Trump extends the ceasefire indefinitely but keeps the US naval blockade of Iran in place
• 17 June - A Memorandum of Understanding establishes 60 days of talks and the US removes its blockade
• 7 July - The US and Iran exchange another wave of strikes, and the US reinstates its naval blockade of Iran
• 24 July - US strikes are paused
• 30 August - Iran and the US trade strikes after American forces attacked two rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz
• 1 September - Iran launches missile and drone attacks at US targets across the Middle East, after American forces resumed strikes against Iran

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

The latest strikes appear to be more widespread, and more intense, than witnessed at the very start of this week.

Americans have said they were targeting Iran's military assets, air defences and mine-laying capabilities. Iran says it attacked US regional allies – in the Gulf and Jordan – with missiles and drones. This all looks like a serious military escalation.

It comes after a month in which there were no reports of strikes carried out by either side.

Washington had been indicating it was switching to a campaign of financial isolation, getting ready to pile sanctions on Iran and those who do business with it.

Then on Sunday, the US fired at two Iranian rocket launchers it said were being prepared to fire sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to retaliate.

Pakistan's foreign ministry says Islamabad is in touch with the US and Iran to end the conflict.

The ministry's spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, says Pakistan is confident Tehran and Washington will "return to the table for dialogue".

Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator during the ongoing war.

Citing his country's chief of defence forces visit to Iran last month, Andrabi says the talks created "considerable momentum" on matters relating to the Strait of Hormuz.

• Read more: How Pakistan won over Trump to become an unlikely mediator in the Iran war

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Daniel Torok/The White House

While there have been no official meetings between Iranian and US officials recently, there have reportedly been visits to Tehran by regional mediators such as Pakistan, Oman and Qatar.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said yesterday that Tehran would immediately resume implementing the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June if Washington returned to its own commitments under the agreement.

But he made these remarks before last night’s US attacks on Iran, and this morning the message from Iran’s Armed Forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been one of defiance and retaliation.

Iran has repeatedly accused the US of breaching the agreements in the MoU, while Washington has accused Tehran of attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US is also continuing its naval blockade of Iran, which has affected the country’s ability to export oil.

Inside Iran, there is renewed economic pressure after Washington announced a fresh sanctions campaign on 24 August, aimed at further isolating Tehran and expanding secondary sanctions on its allies.

Iranian officials and state media have largely dismissed the campaign as a continuation of previous US economic measures, arguing that they came after what they call Washington’s military failure in the recent conflict.

Weapons expert says US missile used in reported wedding strikepublished at 11:41 BST

11:41 BST

By Merlyn Thomas

A weapons expert consulted by BBC Verify says images shared online following the attack which reportedly struck a wedding in Iran show fragments of a cruise missile used by US forces.

N R Jenzen Jones, director of Armament Research Services (Ares), identified the remnants of a fin in pictures from Kuhestak shared by Iranian state TV as being from an AGM-84 Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM-ER).

Image source, IRIB

The US Navy describes the SLAM-ER as being an air-launched “precision strike missile that provides a long range option for pre-planned and target of opportunity missions against land and sea targets”.

“The SLAM-ER was developed as a very precise weapon and, unlike many other munitions, is capable of being re-targeted in flight... There are a handful of known operators of the weapon, including the United States," Trevor Ball, a weapons analyst tells BBC Verify.

US Central Command has released footage of its latest round of overnight strikes in Iran, including a clip showing a missile being launched from what appears to be an American aircraft carrier.

Video has also emerged of an Iranian strike in Aqaba, Jordan, and of the aftermath of the strike on a house in Kujestak, Iran in which the IRCS says least four people have died.

Verified footage shows telecoms tower and houses damagedpublished at 11:07 BST

11:07 BST

BBC Verify has confirmed videos and images showing the aftermath of last night’s US strikes on Kuhestak, a coastal Iranian town on the Strait of Hormuz.

A video and two images captured last night near the coast show the destruction of a telecommunications tower.

Image source, X

Videos filmed last night and this morning also show multiple houses located about 130m (430ft) north of the telecommunications tower severely damaged, with debris scattered around.

According to Iranian media, a wedding ceremony was being held at one of the damaged homes, which led to at least four people being killed, including a four-year-old child.

Image source, X

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Iranian media say there were intense attacks on southern Iran along the coast.

A local official said that at least four civilians including a young child were killed at a wedding ceremony at a home in southern Sirik county, close to the Strait of Hormuz, with dozens more injured.

Although the US says it does not intentionally target civilians, Iranian state media say there were a number of other civilian locations that were hit including a civilian airport and a fishmeal factory. A total of about a dozen people were reportedly killed.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say four of its personnel were also killed in a US strike in the west of the country.

Image source, Iranian Red Crescent Society

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) says four people were killed in a US strike on a house in Sirik, where a wedding ceremony was taking place.

Iranian media initially quoted the IRCS as saying that five people had been killed. The number has since been revised.

Now, in an updated statement, external, the Red Crescent says a child was among the four killed and a further 50 people were injured.

The IRCS says it dispatched its teams to the scene to provide aid. Most of those injured were women and children, they add.

The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US Consulate General in Dubai have warned of "the potential for unforeseen escalation" amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Americans in the region are being urged to "exercise heightened vigilance" and prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

The advisory also notes that US diplomatic facilities have previously been targeted, both in the Middle East and elsewhere.

It warns that Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas, including businesses and institutions associated with the US.

Two oil tankers have hit sea mines and exploded while trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says in a statement shared by state media Irna.

The tankers went through the mine a few hours ago and are still burning, the IRGC says. It accuses the tankers of being told by the US to go through "an illegal route".

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Washington is in control of the strait.

The IRGC says its Navy had previously warned of the dangers of crossing the "mined passage".

Six months have passed since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran. It was a conflict that Trump expected to last "four to five" weeks, but nearly 27 weeks in, there's no end in sight.

Recently, Trump said that the war "will continue for as long as necessary" and that there's no timetable to resume peace talks with Tehran.

In the video below, the BBC's Tom Bateman breaks down what Trump has accomplished during the six month war with Iran.

As we mention in the previous post, President Trump has claimed the US has "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz. But why is the strait so significant?

The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway responsible for much of the world's shipping.

Given its proximity to Iran - and significance to world trade - it has been an arena where much of the fighting and diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has played out.

Image source, EPA

US President Donald Trump says he is not forcing Iran to the bargaining table.

• As a reminder, a US-Iran agreement, known as the Memorandum of Understanding, to extend an April ceasefire between the two countries was signed in June. However, that agreement has expired

"I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement," Trump has written on his social media platform Truth Social.

He says he likes Washington's position "now much better", suggesting that the US has "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iranian threats and attacks to shipping have stopped most traffic through the key shipping route. While some oil tankers have moved through it in recent weeks, volumes remain much lower than at the start of the war.

Tehran has carried out missile and drone attacks on US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain after American forces resumed strikes on Iran on Tuesday.

The Jordanian Armed Forces said it had intercepted 13 ballistic missiles, 10 of which were destroyed, while three fell in remote areas. There were no deaths or injuries.

Separately, Kuwait said its air defences were responding to Iranian missile attacks early Wednesday.

Several explosions were also reported in Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.

And according to Iranian news agency Irna, the IRGC has reported striking US bases in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, destroying a maintenance centre, warehouses and equipment.

Image source, Iranian Red Crescent via Reuters

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called Washington “THE Great Satan” after US strikes reportedly hit a wedding party in Sirik, southern Iran.

The Iranian Red Crescent says five people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 were injured when a US missile attack hit a home where the wedding celebration was taking place.

The US military said it was aware of the reports but it never targeted civilians.

But this morning, in a post on X, Ghalibaf pointed to civilian fatalities since the start of the war, including at a primary school in Minab, saying: “If a power acts like Satan … it’s Satan."

US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes on Iran followed “recent attempted attacks” by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American forces in the region.

Tehran has since launched a series of attacks on US targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain.

We’ll bring you more on this story.

Image source, Centcom