US reportedly drops 2000-lb bomb on family home on Iran's Qeshm IsIand, killing 3 - National & International News -

Reports: US dropped 2,000 lb bomb on family home on Iran’s Qeshm island, killing 3

A New York Times report recently examined evidence that the US dropped a 2,000-lb bomb on a civilian home on Iran’s Qeshm Island. The strike occurred shortly before 4am local time and killed Qeysar Jafari, a taxi driver; his wife Zahra; and their two-year-old son Sina. Two other children survived but remain hospitalized. The Times investigation found no military targets anywhere close to the Jafari home in a densely packed neighborhood.

Experts who examined images of the crater and the pieces of the munition believe it was a Mark-84 2,000-lb munition, possibly rigged with a JDAM guidance system. The experts also said that the bomb seems to have sunk into the sandy soil before exploding which somewhat limited destruction to the surrounding area. Over 20 neighboring households were displaced by damage from the impact, but there have been no reports of further casualties.

Over the past three years, it has become commonplace to hear of the Israeli military dropping these extraordinarily powerful bombs in densely packed urban areas in Gaza. Nevertheless, international law does require militaries to use proportional force and to weigh likely civilian casualties against military advantage. News of this strike has caused significant outrage and condemnation.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman “We are aware of the reports and looking into them. The US military never targets civilians.”

“Virtually all” US long-range missile inventories used up in Iran war, sources say

Following the revelations about the Qeshm Island bombing, news emerged that is possibly relevant. It’s been reported for months that stocks of defensive missile interceptors have been seriously depleted. Now, sources reveal to Reuters that supplies of lower-yield precision munitions used for offensive operations are also running dangerously low. This includes missiles for long-range PrSM and ATACMS systems.

Prior to the Iran war, the US was supplying ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which they used to strike deep within Russian territory. Lockheed Martin was reportedly producing “dozens per month” as of 2024 to keep up with Ukraine’s needs. But the Trump administration’s use of these munitions in the last few months against Iran has far outpaced replacement capacity. Reuters’ sources did not provide numbers, except to say that “virtually all” of the available ATACMS and PrSM missiles have been used up in recent months. The sources also said a little under half of the US supply of Tomahawk missiles, usually launched by ships.

With these munitions depleted, if Trump were to resume large-scale bombings in Iran, he would have to rely more on piloted bombing missions, which are much riskier. This would also likely mean relying more on Mark 84 JDAMs like the one used on Qeshm, which are launched from piloted aircraft. The Mark 84 JDAMs are cheaper to produce and far more plentiful than the ATACS or PrSM munitions. They also have more than twice the explosive yield.