U.S. Vice President JD Vance Downplays Civilian Deaths in Iranian Wedding Strike

A U.S. munition struck the roof of a home where a wedding was being celebrated in southern Iran, killing at least four people—including a 4-year-old child—and injuring dozens more. Weapons experts and U.S. media reports describe the impact as a direct hit. The incident occurred earlier this week, with the briefing on Thursday bringing the event to public attention.

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Vice President JD Vance responded to reports of the strike by casting doubt on U.S. responsibility. He said, “Sometimes things happen,” and described himself as “extremely skeptical” of the strike reports. Vance emphasized that the U.S.

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Independent monitoring groups have documented over 1,700 civilian deaths in Iran linked to U.S. and Israeli actions between February and April, citing attacks on hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Reuters reported that an initial investigation found the United States responsible for the wedding strike. Earlier in the conflict, a U.S. strike on an elementary school in Minab killed 168 people, most of them children; the investigation into that attack has not been publicly released.

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He criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s opposition to stricter engagement rules, suggesting external pressure is needed to protect civilians.

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• “In addition to taking responsibility, DoD should change its targeting procedures to better mitigate the risk of civilian casualties and, ideally, end its illegal war of choice against Iran,” — Charles Blaha, human-rights official “In addition to taking responsibility, DoD should change its targeting procedures to better mitigate the risk of civilian casualties and, ideally, end its illegal war of choice against Iran,” — Charles Blaha, human rights official

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