US investigating if missile hit Iran wedding, Vance says

Meanwhile, the US military is investigating Iranian claims that its strikes killed at least four individuals including two children at a wedding in southern Iran, Vice-President JD Vance has stated.

Key points

• The four individuals killed were named locally as Zarkhatoon Taheri, 50; Kolsum Mallahi Nazhdnia, 43; Mohammad Mallahi, 16; and Amirali Karimi, four.
• BBC Persian Forensics discovered the telecommunications tower was concerning 112m (367 ft) from the house where the wedding was being held.
• Fighting with Iran has continued for over half a year since the US and Israel introduced a joint attack on the country on 28 February.
• Iran has introduced fresh attacks on US bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in response to the alleged strike.
• US missiles were fired the same day over "attempted attacks" by Iran on American forces, but a US Central Command spokesperson remarked it "never targets civilians".

In practice, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) – a humanitarian group – remarked shrapnel from a missile hit the ceremony at a home in Sirik on Tuesday, prompting Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei to declare it a "war crime".

Speaking on Thursday, Vance remarked he was "extremely sceptical" over reports of the alleged strike but confirmed the US would investigate.

Iran notes US strike killed four at wedding in 'war crime' as US denies targeting civilians.

"I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a particularly good scribe concerning what's happened in the conflict thus far. So I'm extremely sceptical of this, " Vance informed a White House briefing. "I know that we're investigating."

In practice, the IRCS remarked 67 residents were hurt when shrapnel from the missile hit a family wedding ceremony, killing at least four individuals. Iranian state media remarked a fifth person, a woman aged 22, had died in hospital shortly after.

In practice, the four individuals killed were named locally as Zarkhatoon Taheri, 50; Kolsum Mallahi Nazhdnia, 43; Mohammad Mallahi, 16; and Amirali Karimi, four.

BBC Verify confirmed a video and two images taken on Tuesday near Kuhestak's coast that indicated a telecommunications tower being destroyed, and other videos from Tuesday and Wednesday demonstrated severely damaged houses regarding 130m (427ft) north of the tower.

In short, US investigating if missile hit Iran wedding, Vance says is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.