JD Vance Investigates Alleged US Attack on Wedding Party in Iran
US Vice President JD Vance has stated that the US military is conducting an in-depth investigation into reports of an attack that allegedly hit a wedding party in Sirik, Hormozgan Province, Iran. However, Vance expressed doubt regarding the claims initially disseminated by Iranian state media.
In an official statement from the White House on Thursday (3/9), Vance emphasised his scepticism towards the accuracy of information from Tehran. “I would say that Iranian state media has not been a good writer regarding what has happened in the conflict so far. So I am very sceptical about this,” he stated, as reported by BBC News on Friday (4/9).
According to gathered data, the US military attack reportedly occurred on Wednesday (2/9) morning in the Kuhestak area of Sirik. The strike is said to have targeted a civilian residential area. The Governor of Sirik, Reza Shahidiyan, informed the state television station IRIB regarding the high number of casualties in the incident.
The Iranian Red Crescent reported that missile fragments struck a house being used to host a wedding party. In response, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, strongly condemned the action, labelling it a war crime.
The BBC Verify team conducted an analysis of visual material from the scene. Based on videos and images taken on 2-3 September, severe damage was found on a telecommunications tower on the Kuhestak coast. BBC Persia’s forensic analysis showed that several destroyed houses were located approximately 130 metres north of the tower, while the wedding location was about 112 metres from the destroyed telecommunications tower.
As a form of retaliation, Iran has reportedly launched counter-attacks against several United States military bases in the Middle East, including military facilities in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At this time, the US military continues to verify whether the damage to the residential houses was a direct result of their military operations or if other factors were involved on the ground.