A U.S. Bomb Misses a Communications Tower by 440 Feet and Lands on a Fisherman's Daughter's Wedding in Kuhestak — Asked About the Four Dead, the Vice President Says He Is "Extremely Skeptical" and That "Sometimes, Things Happen"
On the night of Tuesday, September 1, 2026, dozens of people gathered at a home in Kuhestak, a fishing town on the Iranian coast of the Strait of Hormuz, for the wedding of a fisherman's daughter. A munition struck the building. Iranian authorities named four dead — four-year-old Amir Ali Karimi, 16-year-old Mohammad Malahi, 43-year-old Kolsoum Malahi and 43-year-old Zarkhatoun Taheri — and the Iranian Red Crescent put the wounded at 67; a 22-year-old woman later died in hospital, bringing the reported toll to five. Reuters and The New York Times independently verified footage showing a wedding was underway when the building was hit. The strike was part of a wave of U.S. attacks on southern Iran that ended a month-long lull in the war. Six bombs targeted a communications tower in Kuhestak; one went astray by roughly 440 feet and hit the house. Weapons experts identified the ordnance as a Joint Standoff Weapon glide bomb, and three independent analysts concluded the munition was American rather than an errant Iranian air-defense missile. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper ordered an internal review. CENTCOM spokesman Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said the command was aware of reports "which originated from Iranian state media" and that "the U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC." Asked about it at a White House briefing on Thursday, September 3, Vice President JD Vance said he was extremely skeptical of the Iranian account, said the United States never targets civilians, said the administration was investigating because "we care" — and, of the deaths, that "sometimes, things happen." The phrase drew immediate backlash. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a lead sponsor of the Iran war powers effort, called it "unbelievable gaslighting" in a video posted to X. It is the second mass-casualty incident of the war to put U.S. targeting under scrutiny. After the February 28 strike on a school in Minab that killed more than 165 people, 41 Senate Democrats led by Van Hollen, Kaine, Schatz and Warren pressed the Pentagon for the intended target, the authorizing officer, the munitions used and the precautions taken — and senators later moved to block Hegseth's travel funds until the report was delivered. Democratic members have asked for the Kuhestak findings; as of September 6 the review had not been sent to Congress. Iran's foreign ministry called the strike a "war crime" and wrote to the U.N.; human rights groups have called for an ICC investigation.
“It's unbelievable gaslighting. This is war. As if Americans can't see what's going on on their own phones, with their own eyes.”