Investigation Underway Into U.S. Munitions Strike on Iranian Wedding

By Nilo Tabrizy, Edward Carron, Idrees Ali and George Sargent

September 4 (Reuters) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday that the United States is investigating a deadly strike on an Iranian wedding earlier in the week. An analysis conducted by Reuters suggests the attack likely resulted from a direct hit by a U.S. munition.

According to weapons experts who reviewed images and video verified by Reuters, the explosion that tore through a wedding celebration in southern Iran on Tuesday was likely caused by a direct hit from a U.S. weapon rather than a ricochet from another target.

The United States has not accepted responsibility for the incident. The administration of President Donald Trump faces increasing domestic pressure to end the war, which is impacting his approval ratings ahead of crucial November midterm elections.

Iranian state television reported on Thursday that a 22-year-old woman died in the hospital following the strike, which struck a home during the wedding, bringing the total reported death toll to five. Iranian officials stated that nearly 70 others were wounded.

Mourners gathered on Thursday afternoon outside the village of Kuhestak in Sirik County, located along the Strait of Hormuz coast that was targeted by heavy U.S. airstrikes late Tuesday, to pay their respects.

Vance told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. is examining the incident. “We’re investigating it because obviously we care. We want to know,” he stated.

“If we do make mistakes, this is a significant difference between us and Iran. When our military makes mistakes, we learn from them to improve,” Vance added.

The U.S. military acknowledged the Iranian reports but maintained it “never targets civilians.”

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government is evaluating various scenarios related to the wedding casualties, including whether they were caused by a U.S. strike, a ricochet from an Iranian air defense missile, or an errant interceptor.

Reuters provided video and images of the incident to four military weapons experts, who determined the damage was consistent with a direct hit rather than secondary damage from a munition ricocheting off a different target.

Three of the experts concluded the munition was likely a U.S. weapon rather than a misfired Iranian air defense missile, while one expert suggested the weapon may have simply missed its intended target.

This incident occurred approximately six months after a missile struck a primary school, an event Iranian officials say killed more than 175 children and teachers.

Reuters previously reported that an initial internal U.S. military investigation indicated U.S. forces were likely responsible for that strike. The Pentagon has not publicly released the findings of its probe.

MOURNING THE VICTIMS

At the Thursday funeral for four of the wedding victims, footage from Iran’s Mehr news agency showed a pickup truck carrying a flag-draped coffin beneath a canopy of palm fronds.

A reporter standing in front of the truck stated, “This is the body of Martyr Amir-Mohammad Karimi, a 4-year-old child who was martyred in an attack on the country’s south by the criminal American regime.”

In other funeral footage, mourners threw petals into the air while doleful music played from a loudspeaker. A casket was carried past a row of soldiers standing at attention with rifles.

“If it was a military location, it wouldn’t be so painful. This was a wedding ceremony, but they turned people’s joy into mourning,” a local man told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Washington launched airstrikes on Tuesday, striking what it described as military targets along the coast in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The sudden escalation of the Iran war has driven oil prices to levels unseen since July. Prices rose for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, pushing Brent crude futures above $96 a barrel. [O/R]

Iran reported 18 deaths in the previous U.S. assault.

In response to the U.S. strikes on Wednesday, Iran attacked U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and carried out further attacks early Thursday, stating it was targeting another U.S. base in Kuwait.

Kuwait’s military reported that its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones.

However, following these events, the war’s largest flare-up since July appeared to subside, with no further major attacks reported from either side on Thursday.

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