The United States military is investigating Iranian claims that an American strike killed at least five people, including two children, at a wedding ceremony in southern Iran, even as both sides continue to escalate a conflict now entering its seventh month. Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Thursday that an investigation was underway but expressed strong scepticism about Iranian accounts, saying that Iranian state media had not been a reliable source of information throughout the conflict. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said shrapnel from a missile struck a family wedding at a home in Kuhestak, a coastal town in Sirik district overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, on Tuesday evening, killing four people and wounding more than 67. A 22-year-old woman later died in hospital, bringing the confirmed death toll to five. Those killed included a 50-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman, a 16-year-old boy, and a four-year-old child.
Weapons analysts who reviewed verified photographs and footage for Reuters assessed that the damage was consistent with a direct strike by American munitions rather than secondary fragmentation from a nearby target. Three of four experts consulted concluded the munition was likely American, with one retired British Army colonel specialising in explosives engineering suggesting a 500-pound air-delivered bomb. A former US Army weapons technical expert identified fragments found in the area as belonging to a JSOW glide bomb used by American forces, though Reuters could not independently confirm those fragments came from the wedding site itself. US officials acknowledged that American forces struck a telecommunications tower in Kuhestak, roughly 135 metres from the home hosting the wedding, on 1 September. The US military said it "never targets civilians" and is examining several possible explanations, including an errant American strike, a misfired Iranian air defence missile, or a stray interceptor.
The wedding strike came during the largest escalation between the two sides in more than a month. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones at American military assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, and Iraq's Kurdistan region. Kuwait's military said it intercepted Iranian projectiles aimed at the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base and condemned the attacks as a "grave breach of international law." Iran also claimed it struck Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, though Abu Dhabi reported no such attack. Jordan said its air defences intercepted ten of thirteen ballistic missiles that entered its airspace, with three falling in uninhabited areas and causing no casualties. Iran reported that 19 of its people were killed in the latest round of American bombing between Tuesday and Wednesday, including six naval personnel.
The broader conflict erupted on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A fragile ceasefire that followed collapsed in July after Iran resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil supplies previously flowed — and the US responded with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's petroleum minister said the oil industry was managing to circumvent the American blockade, describing the situation as difficult but workable. Vance ruled out any diplomatic talks with Tehran until the shipping attacks cease, while Iran's first vice president warned that Tehran's response to American strikes would be "asymmetrical" and "multi-layered."
The human cost of the conflict is sharpening domestic pressure inside Iran. Residents of Sirik expressed grief and frustration, with some calling for a return to negotiations. The father of the bride said he was grateful the casualties had not been higher. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that toppling the Islamic Republic was now "within reach," describing the Iranian government as weaker than at any point in its history and fighting for survival. Israel's defence minister said Israel was ready to respond with overwhelming force if Iran attacked during the Jewish high holiday season beginning in mid-September, noting that Iran had so far avoided striking Israeli territory in the latest round of escalation.