Unable to delete text message photos in multiple threads

I'm reaching out regarding a previously reported issue as listed below:

I'm experiencing a frustrating problem with iMessage for a few years now.

There are some photo attachments in iMessage that will not delete. This is what I do:

Open iMessage conversation.

Tap contact header.

Under Photos tap See All.

Tap Select then tap all the photos I want to delete.

Tap Delete then Delete X Attachments.

The screen sort of flickers (like the list is being refreshed) but most of the photos I had selected are still there.

If I try deleting the same photos again they still won't delete.

If I try deleting the photos one at a time by tap-and-holding on each photo, still no luck.

I turned off iCloud message sync, waited a few weeks and tried again. Still no luck.

These pictures are NOT stored in iCloud.

The issue appears in multiple threads; meaning that multiple different pictures cannot be deleted in multiple threads

This issue persists on recent AND older photos.

on some threads the photos have been duplicated multiple times (5 to 10x) and they are "locked"

i have attempted to delete the photos from the messaging app to no avail.

ICloud photos is disabled

I really don't want to nuke the entire conversation just to delete the photos.

iPhone 13, iOS 18.5 (though this has been happening even a few major versions prior).

my iCloud storage has been maxed for years and i have NOT been storing anything else there.