Iran’s semi-official news agency posted photos of a drinking water reservoir that officials said was destroyed in a missile strike as well as images of munition fragments that experts told CNN appeared to be from a US-made bomb.
CNN could not independently verify that the munitions shown in the image released by the Mehr news agency were found at the site. The photos of the damaged water tank were first geolocated to southern Iran by an independent researcher who posts under the name acceladealer on X and confirmed by CNN.
The photo, released by Mehr alongside images of the destroyed water tank in Bamani, Iran, shows components of a GBU-39 series bomb, a precision-guided munition produced in the US, according to munitions experts Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member, and N.R. Jenzen-Jones, the director of Armament Research Services.
Israel and some Gulf states also have the bomb in their arsenals. Ball said the damage to the water tank was broadly consistent with that from a GBU-39.
The US launched strikes against Iran on Tuesday in response to Iran downing a US helicopter; it’s unclear if the water tank was hit in those attacks.
US Central Command spokesperson Capt. Timothy Hawkins said the command was aware of reports and looking into the situation.
Water facilities are protected under the Geneva Convention. In March, President Donald Trump floated the idea of the US attacking Iran’s water desalinization plants. The threat raised widespread alarm among America’s Gulf allies.
