Iran School Strike: US & Israel Suspected | War Update

Military investigators believe U.S. forces were likely responsible for a strike on an Iranian girls’ school on Saturday that killed scores of children, though a final conclusion has not yet been reached, according to two U.S. officials.

Investigation into Iran School Strike

The Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. military was investigating the incident. Two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, stated that new evidence could emerge pointing to another responsible party.

The school in Minab, southern Iran, was hit during the first day of U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said the strike killed 150 students, though Reuters could not independently confirm the death toll.

The Pentagon referred questions to Central Command, whose spokesperson, Capt. Timothy Hawkins, said it would be inappropriate to comment while the incident is under investigation.

The White House did not directly comment on the investigation, but press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the Iranian regime targets civilians and children, not the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Monday that the U.S. would not deliberately target a school, adding that the Department of War would investigate if the strike was determined to be a U.S. operation.

According to a senior Israeli official and a source with direct knowledge of joint planning, U.S. and Israeli forces have been dividing attacks in Iran geographically and by target type. While Israel has been striking missile launch sites in western Iran, the U.S. has been attacking similar targets, and naval ones, in the south.

The UN human rights office has called for an investigation into the attack, stating that the onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it.

Images of the girls’ mass funeral on Tuesday were shown on Iranian state television, depicting small coffins draped with Iranian flags.

Deliberately attacking a school or hospital would likely be a war crime under international humanitarian law. If a U.S. role is confirmed, the strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of conflicts in the Middle East.