Experts dispute US account of deadly Iran sports hall strike in Lamerd
Experts dispute US account of deadly Iran sports hall strike in Lamerd
On the first day of the war, a lethal attack on Lamerd, a town in southern Iran, sparked debate over its origin. Multiple weapons specialists have questioned the U.S. assertion that Iran was responsible, analyzing footage and independent findings to challenge the claim. The experts highlighted discrepancies in the missile’s visual traits, explosion pattern, flight path, and the frequency of strikes in the region.
Initial Claims and Expert Analysis
Iranian officials stated 21 individuals, including four minors, perished in the attack. BBC Verify first reported the incident on 28 March, citing specialists who believed the missile resembled a U.S. Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a novel weapon developed by Lockheed Martin. However, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom), which manages military operations in the Middle East, initially avoided commenting on the report.
“US forces do not target civilians, unlike the Iranian regime which has attacked civilian locations in neighboring countries more than 300 times,” the statement added.
Centcom later issued a denial on 31 March, asserting the footage aligned with an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile. When BBC Verify revisited the claim, Centcom offered no new information, reiterating its original stance. The verified CCTV footage, authenticated and geolocated by BBC Verify, captured a munition detonating above a residential zone.
Discrepancies in Missile Identification
Experts noted that the Hoveyzeh missile has unique features not visible in the Lamerd footage. Amael Kotlarski, a Janes analyst, emphasized the absence of wings or an external engine in the video. Another McKenzie Intelligence expert pointed to the presence of distinctive “canard fins” matching a PrSM.
“Crucially, no matter the angle from which the missile is viewed, the wings and turbo jet would be visible. None of that is clearly distinguishable from the footage,” he said.
“I remain convinced that the weapon seen is a PrSM and not an Iranian Hoveyzeh Cruise Missile—the two are vastly different in appearance,” the expert added.
Trevor Ball from Bellingcat noted the missile’s length “much more consistent with the PrSM” than the Hoveyzeh. The mid-air explosion, visible in low-resolution footage, aligns with the airburst capability of PrSMs, which disperse fragments over a broader area.
Additional Strike in Minab
On the same day, nearly 400 kilometers east, strikes hit a school and a military base in Minab, resulting in 168 fatalities according to Iranian officials. Expert analysis suggested a U.S. Tomahawk missile was responsible for the attack. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed an investigation was underway, reiterating the claim that “US forces never target civilian targets.”
US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins later stated: “After reviewing the reports, Centcom has confirmed the accusations are false.” He added that “the munition depicted in the video appears to be twice as long, consistent with the dimensions and silhouette of an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile.”
