Kathmandu. Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards has said that the United States has started retaliation in response to the attack on Iranian military targets. Iran’s military leadership has threatened to strike hard against the United States, “crushing and shattering.”

According to Iran’s military organization, its air defense system shot down American unmanned aircraft. At the same time, Iran’s Air and Space Force said that ballistic missiles were fired at US military bases and other military installations in the Middle East.

Iran has said that it has started retaliation after the US airstrikes in the southern region on Tuesday. According to the Iranian side, more than 54 people have been killed and injured in the US strike.

At least four people were killed in a US strike targeting a wedding ceremony in the Syriac district of Hormogan province, a semi-official news agency quoted local officials as saying. The dead included a child and a woman, and more than 50 people were injured.

Explosions were heard in parts of southern Iran on Tuesday evening after the US military’s Middle East command announced that it had launched an attack on Iranian military targets.

Explosions were reported in various places in Hormozgan, Sistan and Balochistan, Kerman and Bushehr provinces. Several explosions were also reported in the vicinity of Konarak and Cusham Islands. However, the exact location and cause of the explosions were not immediately clear.

Iran’s main military command has said its armed forces will strike “decisively and severely” against the United States in response to the US airstrikes.

Meanwhile, the US military’s Middle East Command confirmed on social media that it had launched an attack on Iranian military targets. According to it, the latest military action was taken after the Iranian military organization recently attempted to attack commercial ships and US troops stationed in the Middle East in the Strait of Hormuz.