Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on 31 July condemned a US airstrike on a residential building on Qeshm Island in southern Iran, saying the overnight attack killed three civilians — taxi driver Qeysar Jafari, his wife Zahra Jafari, and their two-year-old son Sina — and damaged several homes in the area.

What Baghaei Said

In a post on X, Baghaei described the strike as a 'criminal attack' on 'the homes of the noblest Iranians in Qeshm,' calling the deaths of the Jafari family — including an innocent toddler — an act that 'pains the heart of every conscientious human being.' He drew a direct comparison to militant violence, stating: 'These crimes, which evoke the terrorist actions of ISIS and are carried out under the guise of "peace through force" with the aim of punishing a nation for insisting on its rights, dignity, and independence, will never produce authority or credibility for the criminals.'

Baghaei further warned that every act of aggression was counterproductive to US objectives: 'With every explosion, with every crime, with every sanction, with every threat, with the killing of every child, you only make Iranians more determined and united in defending their homeland.'

Parliament Speaker Joins Condemnation

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also condemned the reported strike, framing it as part of a pattern of attacks on civilian areas. 'The United States stains its hands with a new crime every day,' Ghalibaf said, adding: 'Americans have become accustomed to compensating for the blows they receive on the battlefield by shedding the blood of innocent people. They will pay the price.'

IRGC Issues Warning to US Allies

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday issued a formal warning to nations it described as accomplices in US strikes against Iran, according to local media reports. In a statement from the IRGC's Public Relations office, the corps urged US partners in West Asia and beyond to 'change their behaviour' or face retaliation from Iran. The statement signalled a potential broadening of Tehran's response beyond direct US targets.

Context and Escalation Risk

The Qeshm Island strike, if confirmed by independent sources, would mark a significant escalation in direct US military action on Iranian soil. Ghalibaf's remarks described it as a 'continuation of previous attacks on civilian residential areas,' suggesting Tehran views this as part of a sustained campaign rather than an isolated incident. This comes amid already heightened tensions across West Asia, with Iranian proxies and US forces having exchanged fire at multiple flashpoints in recent months. The IRGC's explicit warning to third-party nations signals that Tehran may be preparing to widen the theatre of any retaliatory action.