US military strikes in southern Iran appear to have destroyed a drinking water facility serving more than 20,000 people, according to an investigation by The New York Times based on satellite imagery, video evidence, and weapons analysis.
The strikes, which occurred near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, reportedly hit two small water storage structures in the village of Bemani in Iran's Hormozgan province.
Iranian media earlier reported that the attack damaged two water tanks in the district, disrupting water supplies to tens of thousands of residents.
The Times' Visual Investigations team identified the damaged structures through satellite imagery and geolocation analysis, concluding that the site was part of a local drinking water network.
Bomb fragments point to US-made munition
Images published by Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency showed weapons fragments recovered from the strike site.
Specialists from the Open Source Munitions Portal, an organisation that catalogues weapons debris from conflict zones worldwide, identified the remnants as parts of a GBU-39, a US-made precision-guided bomb weighing about 250 pounds.
According to the report, the assessment is consistent with the damage pattern visible in footage from the site, including a heavily damaged building adjacent to the water infrastructure.
‘Retaliation against Iran's aggression’
The findings emerged as US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces had carried out additional "self-defence strikes" against multiple targets in Iran.
The military said the operations targeted surveillance capabilities, communications systems, and air defence sites using precision munitions launched by Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets.
CENTCOM described the strikes as a response to what it called Iran's "unwarranted and continued aggression."
The reported damage to civilian water infrastructure could draw scrutiny under international humanitarian law.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit the deliberate targeting of civilian objects, including facilities essential for the survival of the civilian population.
