US Vice President J.D. Vance expressed skepticism about reports of a deadly US attack on a wedding party in the Iranian town of Kuhestaq on Tuesday, saying he did not trust Iranian lore.
But while talking about the allegations, he added, “Sometimes things happen.”
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Speaking at a White House press conference on Thursday, two days after the attack, Vance said he had no new information about the incident, but insisted the U.S. “never targets civilians in combat” and would investigate the incident.
Analysts say his comments reflect the U.S. government’s long history of minimizing or contesting reports of harm to civilians in military operations.
Here’s what we know about the attack on a wedding in Iran and how Vance’s response fits into a pattern of claims in American military history.
What happened in Iran?
Four people, two women and two children, were killed and 67 others injured when a wedding celebration was attacked by a missile in the town of Kuhestak in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province on Tuesday night, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said.
The Hormozgan governor’s office on Wednesday identified the four killed as 4-year-old Amir Ali Karimi, 16-year-old Mohammad Malahi, 43-year-old Kolsum Malahi, and 43-year-old Zarkatoon Taheri.
The Iranian Red Crescent said the incident was thoroughly documented and released several images of the scene and injured children. The group has written to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, calling for legal action against the perpetrators of the “serious” attack.
Footage showed several projectiles hitting and destroying a communication tower near the city’s coastline, and local residents said they believed a drone may have been used. Based on the shrapnel fragments found at Kuhestak, defense experts said it could be a variant of the AGM-84K SLAM-ER. Manufacturer Boeing describes the missile as an advanced precision-guided air-launched cruise missile with “surgical strike capabilities.”
Reuters, citing a weapons expert who reviewed images and footage, said the damage was likely caused by a direct hit from U.S. munitions.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the attack in Kuhestak completed a “catalogue of atrocities against the Iranian state” by the United States.
The United States announced that it had begun an investigation.
What are Vance and other U.S. government officials saying?
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said Tuesday that the U.S. is aware of reports of civilian casualties “from Iranian state media” and is “looking into them.”
“Unlike the Revolutionary Guards, the U.S. military never targets civilians,” he added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Vance later said he was “very skeptical” of reports about the wedding strike.
He said that although the attack was recorded by the Iranian Red Crescent, “Iranian state media is not a very good reporter of the ongoing conflict.”
“I can say with 100 percent confidence that, unlike the Revolutionary Guards, the United States will never target civilians in combat,” Vance said. “We would never do that. We’ve never done anything like that.”
He added: “Unfortunately and understandably, sometimes things happen.”
How does this differ from past military claims about attacks on civilians?
This is not the first time the US government has questioned reports of alleged harm to civilians during wars, including the current conflict with Iran.
Minab school strike, Iran
Following the massive attack on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on February 28, US President Donald Trump initially said he believed Iran was responsible. But as the U.S. investigation into the attack progressed and more satellite data, footage and expert analysis pointed to U.S. responsibility, including the presence of debris from a U.S. Tomahawk missile, President Trump later said that “nobody did it on purpose” and that “mistakes happen” during wars.
Yemeni civilian casualties
The U.S. government has similarly changed its message following several high-profile attacks that killed civilians in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iraq.
Last month, the United States acknowledged for the first time that its air operations against the Houthis in Yemen in April 2025 likely resulted in high civilian casualties, assessing 153 civilians killed and 243 injured. The numbers represent a sharp increase from 2024, when the Pentagon estimated two civilians were killed and two injured in U.S. military operations.
Civilian deaths increase in Afghanistan
The U.S. government has similarly changed its message following several high-profile attacks that killed civilians during the wars in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iraq.
When a US airstrike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s Azizabad village in 2008 sparked outrage over reported civilian casualties, the US military initially claimed there were no civilian deaths. It later revised that figure to 33, acknowledging the deaths of seven civilians. The Afghan government said 90 civilians were killed, most of them women and children.
On the final day of the US withdrawal in August 2021, the US conducted a drone attack on cars in Kabul. The country initially claimed that a fighter from ISIL affiliate ISKP (ISIS-K) in Khorasan province was killed. But weeks later, the US military admitted that an investigation revealed that the attack actually killed 10 civilians, including seven children. Lt. Gen. Sami Said, commander of the USS Air Force, called it an “honest mistake.”
Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq
In Iraq, U.S. authorities initially downplayed the extent of crimes at Abu Ghraib prison after photos leaked in 2003 showing prisoners being abused by U.S. guards. A subsequent investigation revealed a broader pattern of abuse, including sexual abuse, rape, physical and psychological torture, and the death of at least one inmate.
In the years that followed, 11 U.S. soldiers were indicted on charges including neglect of duty, abuse, aggravated assault, and assault. They were convicted by a military tribunal and nine were sentenced to prison terms. In November 2024, a U.S. jury ruled that Virginia-based defense contractor CACI must pay $42 million to three Iraqi men who were tortured in prison in 2004.
vietnam war
During the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975, the U.S. military initially covered up reports of a massacre at My Lai, where U.S. soldiers killed and seriously injured up to 500 Vietnamese, many of them women and children. After evidence of the killing became public, a U.S. investigation found that U.S. military officials were involved in covering up the massacre.
Emily Tripp, executive director of Air Wars, a watchdog group that tracks civilian casualties during conflicts, said Vance’s skepticism about recent deadly U.S. attacks in Iran reflects a tendency to treat civilian casualties “like PR crises” rather than due process.
“The odds are always stacked against civilians, from the moment they are harmed by ill-conceived planning, to the moment they try to show the world what happened, to the moment they seek answers and recognition,” Tripp told Al Jazeera.
“Vance’s pushback on these claims in the face of a military investigation reflects a visceral mistrust of the most vulnerable, a position that has been shown time and time again to be false.”
