US Investigates Alleged Missile Strike on Iranian Wedding, Vance Says

Vice‑President JD Vance told a White House briefing that the U.S. military is looking into reports from Iran that a missile struck a wedding ceremony in southern Iran, killing at least four people, including two children. Vance said he was "extremely skeptical" of the Iranian media’s portrayal of the event but confirmed an investigation is underway.

The claim was first raised by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group that said shrapnel from a missile hit a house in Sirik on Tuesday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the incident a war crime but noted it was a civilian venue.

At the same time, the U.S. has fired missiles in retaliation for a series of Iranian attacks on American forces in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. A U.S. Central Command spokesperson said the missiles "never target civilians," stressing the U.S.’s objective to respond strictly to military threats.

The assault on the wedding site followed a series of clashes that began with the U.S. and Israel’s joint attack on Iran on 28 February. The U.S. maintains a position of investigating each alleged strike to ensure compliance with international norms.

Photo: An image distributed by the Iranian Red Crescent Society shows the destroyed remains of a building that was hosting the wedding ceremony. The picture was posted shortly after the incident, underscoring the casualty toll. The IRCS said 67 people were hurt, including the four confirmed deaths noted by local Persian reports: Zarkhatoon Taheri (50), Kolsum Mallahi Nazhdnia (43), Mohammad Mallahi (16) and Amirali Karimi (4).