US Vice President JD Vance says Washington is investigating reports that a strike hit a wedding gathering in southern Iran, while stressing that US forces do not intentionally target civilians.
WASHINGTON, US — WEB DESK: The United States is investigating reports that an American strike hit a wedding gathering in southern Iran, Vice President JD Vance said, while stressing that US forces do not intentionally target civilians.
Vance made the comments during a White House briefing on Thursday after Iranian officials accused the United States of striking a home where a wedding ceremony was taking place.
Iranian authorities said the reported strike occurred in the village of Kuhestak in Sirik County, Hormozgan province. Iranian officials initially reported four deaths and nearly 70 injuries, while Iranian state television later said a fifth person, a 22-year-old woman, died in hospital.
JD Vance Says US Is Investigating
Asked about the reported attack, Vance said Washington was investigating the incident because it wanted to establish what had happened.
He also expressed strong scepticism about accounts coming from Iranian state media, arguing that Iranian official reporting during the conflict had not always been reliable.
At the same time, Vance acknowledged that mistakes can occur during military operations. He said the US military investigates mistakes when they happen and attempts to learn from them.
The US military has said it was aware of reports about the incident and maintained that it does not target civilians.
Iran Reports Civilian Casualties
Iranian authorities said the strike hit a home during a wedding gathering in Sirik.
Iranian media reported that women and children were among those killed or wounded. Iranian officials attributed the attack to US forces, but Washington had not initially confirmed responsibility for the specific strike.
The reported casualties added to growing concerns over civilian harm during the renewed US-Iran fighting.
Iranian Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour separately said that at least 18 people had been killed and 142 injured in US airstrikes carried out between August 30 and September 2, according to Anadolu Agency. He said the figures included casualties in Sirik and other locations.
Weapons Experts Assess Strike
A subsequent Reuters analysis of verified footage and images provided additional scrutiny of the incident.
Weapons experts who reviewed the material for Reuters said the damage pattern was consistent with a direct strike rather than debris from a weapon that had missed another target. Three of four experts assessed that the munition was likely American, while one said it could have been a munition that missed its intended target.
The assessment did not by itself establish the intended target or explain why the strike occurred.
The US investigation therefore remains significant in determining whether American forces were responsible and, if so, what caused the civilian casualties.
Vance Defends US Military Policy
Vance maintained that the United States does not deliberately target civilians.
He said civilian casualties can occur during military operations but argued that the US military investigates potential mistakes and uses those investigations to improve future operations.
The vice president contrasted this approach with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing the group of deliberately targeting civilians. The IRGC has rejected US characterisations of its military activities.
US-Iran Tensions Remain High
The reported wedding strike comes amid renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran following a period of relative calm.
Vance also said the United States was not currently negotiating with Iran and would not resume talks unless Tehran stopped attacks on commercial shipping.
He said Washington was using military, economic and diplomatic pressure to protect commercial vessels and maintain the movement of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz remains strategically important because of its role in global oil and gas shipments, making renewed military confrontation between the US and Iran a wider international concern.
Investigation Could Clarify Responsibility
The US investigation is expected to focus on the circumstances surrounding the strike, including the intended target, the weapon used and the chain of events that led to the reported civilian casualties.
For now, Iranian authorities maintain that the strike hit a wedding gathering, while Washington says it is investigating the allegation.
Independent analysis has since indicated that an American munition likely struck the location, but the circumstances and intended target remain important questions for investigators.
