Explosion at a wedding party in southern Iran: four dead, suspected to be US ammunition

An explosion at a wedding party in southern Iran on Monday killed four people and injured at least 68 others, human rights groups said. According to an analysis by weapons experts, the explosion in the small town of Kuhestak was probably the direct impact of US-made ammunition.

The experts, who evaluated images and videos verified by the Reuters news agency, largely ruled out a ricochet or a misguided Iranian missile.

US President JD Vance said at a press conference at the White House on Thursday that the US was investigating the incident. “We're investigating it because it's obviously important to us. “We want to know,” Vance said. The US military said it was aware of the reports and was reviewing them.

Reuters presented the footage to four weapons experts. Three of them said it was probably a US-made weapon. “The visible blast damage could not have come from fragments of the close impact on the communications tower,” said Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal officer. He also identified debris from images from Iranian media as the remains of a JSOW glide bomb used by the US military. However, Reuters was unable to verify whether the debris came from the attack on the house.

The incident brings back memories of the ​missile strike in an Iranian elementary school in February, which, according to Iranian sources, killed more than 175 children and teachers. An internal U.S. military investigation concluded that U.S. forces were likely responsible for the attack early in the war with Iran.