Visual investigations
An analysis of satellite images and videos suggest a precision strike on an Iranian water facility.
Strikes early Wednesday destroyed what appears to be a drinking-water facility on Iran’s southern coast, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Around the time of the strikes, the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that it had conducted attacks near the strait “with precision munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets.”
Iranian state media reported that the U.S. had hit water storage buildings and a local official said that water was cut off to more than 20,000 people living in a town and villages nearby. Temperatures in the area have reached above 100 degrees Fahrenheit this week.
A commercial satellite image from the morning of June 9 shows two small water structures in the village of Bemani. Both have light blue pipes, typical for water distribution infrastructure, as is their location — on a hill outside of a populated area. The buildings are consistent with the description of the two storage tanks that Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, the head of the provincial water authority, said were destroyed.
It is unclear if the U.S. intentionally struck the water facilities, or knew what was in the buildings. Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime under international law.
Videos released on Wednesday by Iranian media outlets, including state media, and the provincial water authority show that the roof of the smaller building collapsed.
The larger facility next to it still stands, but images show that it has a small impact hole in the center of its roof. The Times confirmed the images of the structure by matching the visible surroundings to reference imagery of the site.
A photo of fragments that Tasnim, a semiofficial Iranian news agency, said were recovered from the site showed remnants identified as a GBU-39 bomb by researchers with the Open Source Munitions Portal, a database of weapon fragments documented in conflict zones.
The GBU-39, a small precision-guided glide bomb in the 250-pound class, is consistent with the damage shown in the footage of the damaged building: a clean hole punched through the building’s roof and limited blast damage around it.
Both buildings stand outside the village, and there is no other infrastructure in the immediate vicinity. Hitting remote buildings and striking the center of a roof are considered likely indicators of a precision strike. In a text message, a Central Command spokesman said he was aware of the reports of damage at the facility, but did not provide further information.
Mr. Hamzehpour, the provincial water authority leader, said that mobile water tankers had brought in water to supply residents while crews built a new service line that bypassed the damaged tanks, a task he said had been accomplished within 12 hours.
John Ismay contributed reporting. Alexander Cardia contributed graphics editing. Translation was contributed by Artemis Moshtaghian.
