Senior US Democratic senators called for an investigation into the attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran, saying the Pentagon must “provide clear answers” about the incident that killed at least 170 people.
Six lawmakers said in a joint statement Sunday night that they are “horrified” by the bombing of the elementary school in Minab during the first US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.
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“The murder of schoolchildren is heinous and unacceptable under any circumstances,” said the senators who are the top Democrats on the national security panels.
The move comes as new footage of the attack suggested the school site was likely hit by a Tomahawk missile, a weapon used by the United States that Israel and Iran do not possess.
The bombing of Minab primary school has become a symbol of the growing number of civilian deaths due to the conflict.
Iranian officials have said the US and Israeli strikes have damaged other schools, as well as dozens of medical centers, residential buildings, street markets, a water desalination plant and other civilian targets.
US and Israeli strikes have killed 1,255 people – mostly civilians – in Iran since the start of the war, according to Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian.
“They lived at home or at their workplace,” the Health Minister told Al Jazeera in a television interview.
Hegseth on the rules of engagement
In their statement, the US senators noted that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has openly boasted about relaxing the rules of engagement in attacks on Iran to allow US forces to bomb the country with little restraint.
“Secretary Hegseth must ensure that the Department of Defense’s ongoing investigation into this attack is thorough, including whether any political decisions may have contributed to the catastrophe, and provide clear answers to the American public and Congress about how and why this tragedy unfolded,” they said.
The lawmakers, including Brian Schatz, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren, said “the incident and any similar incidents must be fully and impartially reviewed.”
Last week, Hegseth told reporters that U.S. planes are launching the “deadliest” strikes against Iran with “the highest authorities.”
“No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmires, no democracy-building exercises, no politically correct wars: we fight to win and lose no time or lives,” he said on March 2.
Days later, Hegseth emphasized that the rules of engagement are intended to “unshackle American power, not shackle it.”
Despite mounting evidence and multiple visual investigations by media outlets suggesting that the attack on Minab was carried out with American weapons, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of bombing the school.
“In my opinion, and from what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said last week.
For his part, Hegseth has failed to echo the US president’s statement, emphasizing on multiple occasions in recent days that the Pentagon is investigating the incident.
“America must stop focusing on denial”
Annie Shiel, U.S. director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), said there have been numerous incidents in recent years in which the United States “reflexively denies” harm to civilians “only to have investigations by the media, civil society and the U.S. military itself prove otherwise.”
In 2021, the Pentagon initially denied killing civilians in a strike during the drawdown in Afghanistan, calling the attack “just” and directed against ISIL (ISIS).
But weeks later, he acknowledged that the attack was a “tragic mistake” that killed 10 people, including seven children, after independent investigations confirmed the victims’ identities.
Shiel said the Trump administration is treating the “devastating” attack on Minab as a public relations issue.
“The United States must stop focusing on denial and get to the truth about what happened and why through a thorough, transparent and independent investigation,” Shiel told Al Jazeera.
On Friday, United Nations experts condemned the attack on Minab as a “serious assault on children.”
“An attack on a functioning school during school hours raises the most serious concerns under international law and must be investigated urgently, independently and effectively, with accountability for any violations,” they said.
“There is no excuse for killing girls in a classroom.”
