‘A Bomb Appears to Have Missed’: Suspected U.S. Strike on Iranian Wedding Injures or Kills 90 Civilians

A bomb intended for a military communications facility in southern Iran may have missed its target and hit a home where a wedding was taking place, raising fresh questions about U.S. civilian casualties.

The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Defense Department is investigating the strike in Kuheštak on the night of July 1. U.S. officials believe a naval aircraft dropped six bombs at the communications compound. Five hit the target, while one veered off course. The home hosting the wedding stood about 134 meters from the intended target.

Iran’s Health Ministry said two women and two children or teenagers, aged 4 and 16, died in the attack, while more than 90 people were injured. The Associated Press reported that a woman in her 60s later died after being taken to hospital, bringing the death toll to five. About 150 women had gathered at the house, and witnesses said many of the injured were children.

The weapon used was a Joint Standoff Weapon, an American glide bomb capable of adjusting its course during flight. The U.S. military has ruled out the possibility that the house was deliberately targeted or confused with another target, but it has not identified why the bomb went astray. Experts cited faulty intelligence, human error or a weapons malfunction as possible explanations. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggested the bomb may have missed while targeting a narrow area around a communications tower.

U.S. Central Command said it was checking reports of civilian casualties and stated, “The U.S. military does not target civilians.” The incident nonetheless recalls a strike on an elementary school in Minab shortly after the conflict began in late February. The AP reconstructed that episode using open-source information, satellite imagery and human rights data, identifying 157 of the dead, including 123 children aged 13 or younger. The article says outdated targeting information was used and that information identifying the building as a school did not reach the personnel developing the target.

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The U.S. military does not target civilians.