Fear, Chaos And Rush To Save Critically Ill Children After US Strikes Ahvaz Cancer Hospital In Iran, Doctors Recount Horror

Areas near a cancer hospital in Iran's southwestern city of Ahvaz were struck in a missile attack on Wednesday, Iranian authorities said, as the US military launched a second wave of strikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure amid the rapidly escalating conflict in the Gulf.

Hossein Kermanpour, Head of the Public Relations and Information Center at Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said the attack hit areas near Boghayi Hospital 2, a facility dedicated to treating cancer patients.

In a post on X, Kermanpour said, "Moments ago, the areas near Boghayi Hospital 2 (dedicated to cancer patients) in Ahvaz were hit by a missile attack. Some patients and their companions, out of fear from the intense sound and severe tremors, have fled the hospital, and now only the most critically ill patients remain!"

Iranian commentator Seyed Mohammad Marandi also claimed on X that a children's hospital in Ahvaz had been bombed and was being evacuated. However, Iranian officials specifically identified the affected medical facility as Boghayi Hospital 2, a cancer hospital. There has been no independent verification of the claims.

The reported strike came hours after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced a second wave of attacks on Iranian military targets, saying the operation was aimed at degrading capabilities allegedly used to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway vital to global commerce. The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief's direction," CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X.

Earlier in the day, CENTCOM said it had struck Iranian coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island. According to Reuters, three US officials said the broader campaign is designed to weaken Iran's military capabilities before any potential larger operations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB separately reported that an attack also damaged part of the Souza fish powder factory in Qeshm, Hormozgan province. Quoting the provincial governor, IRIB said the facility sustained limited damage and no casualties were reported as the site was empty at the time of the strike.

The latest escalation follows Iran's decision to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies typically pass. Military operations by both sides have severely disrupted maritime traffic, with Brent crude closing at a one-month high of $84.95 per barrel.

The US military also said it had disabled an unladen oil tanker heading toward Iran's Kharg Island after it ignored repeated warnings, firing Hellfire missiles into the vessel's smokestack. Since reinstating its naval blockade against Iran, Washington said it has redirected two vessels and disabled another.

Meanwhile, Iran signalled that it would continue its military campaign. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohammadi said Tehran's operations remain focused on US military infrastructure across the region.

"The enemy should not imagine that it can continue the current equation of the battle and turn the war into one of attrition. Iran's operations are currently focused on destroying America's offensive infrastructure in the region. The next steps will then begin," Mohammadi said in a post on X.

Separately, US President Donald Trump announced that an American citizen who had been detained in Iran since December 2024 had been released and had safely left the country, describing the move as a "gesture of goodwill" by Tehran even as hostilities between the two countries continued to intensify.

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