Weapons experts who reviewed verified video and photos say a deadly blast at an Iranian wedding was likely a direct hit by a U.S. munition, as Washington says it is investigating the incident.
The finding, published by Reuters on Thursday, moves the story beyond Iran’s earlier civilian-casualty claim. Four military weapons experts examined images and video verified by Reuters and said the damage at a home in Kuhestak, in Sirik County along the Strait of Hormuz coast, was consistent with a direct strike rather than secondary damage from a ricochet off another target.
Three of the experts said the munition was likely a U.S. weapon, not an errant Iranian air-defense missile. One said the weapon may have missed its intended target. The United States has not accepted responsibility.
Washington Says It Is Investigating
Vice President JD Vance told reporters Thursday that the United States was looking into the strike. “We’re investigating it because obviously we care. We want to know,” Vance said, according to Reuters. He added that if the U.S. military makes mistakes, “they learn from them.”
The U.S. military said it was aware of the Iranian reports but “never targets civilians.” A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the government is weighing several scenarios, including a U.S. strike, a ricochet from an Iranian air-defense missile, or an errant interceptor.
CBS News reported that Vance also said he was “extremely skeptical” of Iranian state-media accounts of the conflict, while repeating that the U.S. military does not target civilians. That skepticism now sits alongside an independent damage analysis that points the other way.
Death Toll Rises As Funerals Begin
Iranian state television said Thursday that a 22-year-old woman died in hospital after the strike, taking the reported death toll to five. Iranian officials said nearly 70 people were wounded.
Funeral-goers gathered Thursday outside Kuhestak to mourn the victims. Iran’s Mehr news agency identified one of the dead as 4-year-old Amir-Mohammad Karimi. Dawn, citing the Reuters analysis, said dozens of residents had gathered in the home for a wedding when a munition likely struck the building’s roof.
The strike came during a U.S. airstrike wave on Tuesday that Washington said targeted military sites along the Hormuz coast in response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. Iran reported 18 dead in that assault. List25 previously covered the wedding as an unverified Iranian claim and as part of a U.N. condemnation. The new reporting is the forensic assessment itself, plus the U.S. confirmation that it is investigating.
The United States still has not publicly concluded what hit the wedding. But the expert review has narrowed the argument. This is no longer just Tehran’s allegation against Washington’s denial. It is now a documented blast site, a rising civilian death toll, and a White House that says it wants answers.
Sources
- Reuters via Al-Monitor: U.S. probes Iran wedding strike that analysis shows was likely direct hit by U.S. munition
- Reuters via The Straits Times: U.S. probes Iran wedding strike
- Dawn: Deadly strike on Iranian wedding was likely a direct hit by a U.S. munition, analysis shows
- CBS News: Vance says U.S. is investigating wedding-strike reports