Updated

Iran accused the United States of striking a wedding celebration in southern Iran, killing four people including children, after shrapnel reportedly hit the ceremony on a Tuesday earlier this week. Iranian officials labeled the strike a war crime, while US Vice President JD Vance said Washington is investigating whether a missile did in fact hit the wedding, and US officials denied deliberately targeting civilians. BBC Verify examined footage of the aftermath showing damage to a building where the celebration was taking place. Iran responded to the incident by launching missiles and drones at US targets in the Middle East, tying the wedding strike directly into the broader escalation of US-Iran hostilities playing out around the Strait of Hormuz. The competing narratives over the strike underscore the volatility of the conflict and the difficulty of independently verifying claims from either side.