Senators Urge Pentagon to Disclose Findings on Iran School Strike Investigation

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) – A coalition of Senate Democrats led by Kirsten Gillibrand called on Monday for the Trump administration to release, within a week, the results of the U.S. military’s investigation into the Feb. 28 strike that hit a girls’ school in Iran.

Reuters disclosed on March 5 that an internal U.S. military review indicated U.S. forces were likely responsible for the fatal attack in Minab, which occurred on the war’s opening day.

The letter, signed by more than two dozen senators — including Ranking Democrat Jack Reed of the Senate Armed Services Committee — asks the Pentagon to conclude its investigation, brief Congress, and present a plan to prevent recurrence.

“There is no justification for withholding an unclassified accounting of what happened, what went wrong, and what the Department is doing to prevent recurrence,” the lawmakers wrote.

A Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters that the investigation remains ongoing and no updates are available at this time.

The strike resulted in the deaths of over 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials, making it the largest civilian casualty incident involving U.S. forces since 1991, when a mistaken bombing of an Iraqi shelter killed more than 400 civilians.

Archived records from the school’s official website show the facility is adjacent to a compound operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, which reports to Iran’s supreme leader.

According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, U.S. officials preparing targeting packages relied on outdated intelligence.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, testified in May that the investigation was “complex” because the school was situated on an active Iranian cruise‑missile base.

Former President Donald Trump has questioned whether the United States will ever know the truth, stating, “Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was… I don’t think it was us,” on June 24.

Iranian officials have labeled the attack a U.S. war crime, while the Pentagon maintains it never intentionally targets civilians.

In their letter, the senators request that Cooper and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provide an unclassified version of the findings to Congress and the public, and supply a prevention and remediation plan that outlines specific corrective actions to avoid future incidents.

“The United States military has a legal and moral obligation to take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm,” the letter states. “When a U.S. strike kills civilians, the Department owes Congress, the American people, and the victims’ families a clear accounting of what happened and a credible plan to prevent future failures.”

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source link