Women and children gathered in the Mallahi family compound in Kuhestak, a small town on Iran’s southern coast, to await a bride and groom when a U.S. guided‑bomb strike hit the house. The explosion created a gaping hole in the roof, shattered windows and sent twisted metal across the courtyard, killing five people – a 4‑year‑old boy, a 16‑year‑old teen and two women – and injuring more than 60 others.
Local residents said roughly 150 women were inside the house while men celebrated separately about 50 meters away. The strike struck the room where dinner was to be served, before the bride and groom had arrived. “Thank God the casualties were not higher,” said Ali Mallahi, a cousin of the bride.
U.S. response and investigation
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he had been briefed on the incident and that the United States was “investigating it very fully.” He reiterated that the U.S. does not target civilians, but added, “Sometimes things happen.” A U.S. weapons expert who reviewed images from the scene said the evidence points to American guided bombs, specifically remnants of a Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) and a GBU‑39 glide bomb.
U.S. Central Command released videos showing aircraft, including an F/A‑18E, loaded with a JSOW operating over Iran that night. The U.S. military said the broader campaign targeted Iranian air‑defense systems, radar installations and maritime assets.
Impact on local infrastructure
The strikes also felled a communications tower near the Mallahi home, disrupting telephone and internet service across the region. Hassan Sayadi, a technician with the Hormozgan provincial telecommunications department, confirmed the damage and said service was being restored, with mobile phones and data working again by Friday.
Kuhestak lies about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Minab, where an earlier U.S. missile strike on February 28 killed more than 100 children at a primary school, marking the opening day of the war launched by the United States and Israel.
Local reaction
Neighbors described the night as a series of heavy explosions that lit up the sky. “Most of the injured were kids. The scenes were very heartbreaking,” said Sasan Zarei, who helped pull people from the rubble.
Iranian media posted video of the colorful wedding decorations and palm fronds strewn across the ground after the blast, underscoring the tragedy of a celebration turned to carnage.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
