- The most significant civilian casualty incident happened on the first day of the war when a US strike hit a school, killing 150 people, most of them children.
- The US military investigation into that incident is expected to be finalized soon, according to a US official.
Driving the news: According to the Iranian Red Crescent, a humanitarian network, five people were killed and 67 wounded in the blast that hit the home where the wedding was happening.
- Iranian officials accused the US of striking the building and killing civilians.
- On Wednesday, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper ordered an internal review of the strike, US officials said.
- “We’re aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media, and we are looking into them. The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said.
What they’re saying: “We’re investigating it because obviously we care,” Vice President JD Vance said Thursday during a White House press briefing. “We want to know, and if we do make mistakes, again, this is a big difference between us and Iran. When our military makes mistakes, they learn from them to try to get better from them. So we’re investigating it very fully.”
Behind the scenes: US officials said the strike in the area targeted a communications tower used for both civilian and military communications.
- As part of the preliminary investigation, CENTCOM is reviewing footage from drones that monitored the area during the strike and the procedures used to identify the target, US officials said.
- A US official said that in addition to checking whether munitions fired by the US hit the wedding, the investigation will also look at the possibility that an errant Iranian ammunition fell near the home.
