The Sept. 1 U.S. airstrike on a wedding party in southern Iran has sparked widespread anger among Iranians, who have demanded better protection of civilians and forceful responses to such attacks.
The U.S. strike, which hit a wedding party in Sirik County in south Iran's Hormozgan province, killed four people and injured at least 90 others.
"Under such circumstances, the priority is to protect people. At the same time, we believe that the relevant authorities should take citizens' safety into account when making their decisions," said a resident in Tehran.
"We want a decision that achieves two things: deterring those who target Iran and protecting civilians at the same time," said another Tehran resident.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. strike as a "war crime."
Soon after the attack, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had started strikes against U.S. bases and assets in the region in retaliation.
"When civilians fall victim, the response must be stronger to ensure these attacks do not happen again," said a resident in Tehran.
"Targeting civilians is unacceptable, and, naturally, there is anger here. The response must be strong enough to ensure the other side knows that targeting people will not go without a price," said another resident.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said last Thursday the United States is probing the wedding strike in southern Iran, renewing scrutiny over civilian casualties from U.S. military operations in the country.
Tehran residents demand forceful response to U.S. strike on wedding party
The 2026 China Business Report, released on Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), revealed a significant rebound in business confidence among its surveyed member companies operating in China.
Business confidence bounced back markedly, as 58 percent of respondents expressed optimism about China's five-year business outlook, up 17 percentage points year on year, the report said.
Profitability rebounded to its highest level since 2019, with 78 percent of respondents profitable in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points from the 2024 level, according to the report.
As business confidence rebounded and more companies reported profits, investment confidence in China also strengthened, resulting in 28 percent of respondents increasing investment in China last year, the highest level in four years.
Improved market sentiment is also reflected in a positive assessment of China's business environment. Fifty-five percent of surveyed companies said the business environment in China is transparent, up 7 percentage points year on year.
Jeffrey Lehman, chair of AmCham Shanghai, attributed the positive change to eased bilateral tensions and shared expectations for more stable and reciprocal economic and trade relationship, as the two leaders of states reaffirmed multiple times in the past year.
"We do our surveys In June, and so in June of 2025, there was a lot of anxiety among our members about the geopolitical situation. After that, we had the meeting of the leaders in Busan. We had the summit in Beijing in May, the agreement between the two countries that they would try to create a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity. And that is very reassuring to our members because that suggests that there will be a stable environment in which they can operate well. If anxiety about geopolitics slips, that means then, that the number one concern is the continuing improvement in the quality of domestic competition," he said.
The report is based on AmCham Shanghai's 2026 China Business Survey of 262 member companies.
AmCham Shanghai report shows sharp rebound in business confidence among member companies
