Iran’s semi-state news agency posted photos of a drinking water reservoir that authorities said was destroyed in the missile attack, as well as images of fragments of ammunition that experts told CNN appeared to be from a US-made bomb.
CNN has not been able to independently verify whether the ammunition shown in the images published by the Mair news agency was found at the scene. Photos of the damaged tank were first located in southern Iran by an independent researcher posting on X under the name acceladealer, and confirmed by CNN.
Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team member and munitions expert, and NR Jenzen Jones, director of the Ordnance Research Service, said the photo, published by Mair along with an image of a destroyed water tank in Bamani, Iran, shows parts of a GBU-39 series bomb, a precision-guided munition manufactured in the United States.
Israel and some Gulf states also have bombs in their arsenals. Ball said the damage to the water tank was consistent with damage caused by GBU-39.
The United States launched an offensive against Iran on Tuesday after Iran shot down a US military helicopter. It is unclear whether the aquarium was hit in these attacks.
U.S. Central Command spokesman Col. Timothy Hawkins said the command is aware of the report and is investigating the situation. He did not answer further questions about water facilities.
Water facilities are protected under the Geneva Convention. In March, President Donald Trump floated the idea of the United States attacking Iran’s desalination facilities in a post on Truth Social. The threat caused widespread alarm among America’s Gulf allies.
After the US attack, Mair reported that Abdul Hamid Hamzepour, chief executive officer of Hormozgan Water and Sewerage Company, told government agencies that “two concrete reservoirs with a total capacity of 2,500 cubic meters in Bamani district were hit by missile attacks and were completely rendered unusable.”
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the reservoir was home to at least 20,000 Iranians. Photos published by Mair show only the smaller of the two tanks, with its roof caved in and surrounded by debris. Measurements taken from satellite images show large pipes leading into the tank, which may have held about 500,000 liters of water.
Ball said even if the water tank had been destroyed during the massive U.S. strike in response to the helicopter shooting down, it was unlikely that the weapon was misguided from its location.
“It’s possible there was a mistake in specifically targeting this building, but it’s highly unlikely that it was a munitions mistake,” Ball told CNN. “The ammunition accurately hit this building at a considerable distance.”
