WASHINGTON – The U.S. military announced Friday it is intensifying its investigation into a February 28 strike that obliterated an Iranian girls’ school, killing 168 children, after early findings pointed to likely American responsibility.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing the gravity, refused to discuss preliminary results from Reuters’ March 5 report. “We’re not going to let reporting lead us or force our hand,” he said at the Pentagon. A senior probe, led by an independent general outside U.S. Central Command, will now oversee the effort to ensure impartiality.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, launched the administrative 15-6 investigation last week post-initial review, with the external officer appointed Thursday, three U.S. officials said anonymously. Such probes gather sworn statements and can spur disciplinary measures.
Preliminary evidence suggests U.S. forces used outdated targeting data, mistaking Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, southern Iran, for an adjacent military base. Videos indicate a Tomahawk cruise missile, a U.S. hallmark, struck the site.
Iran’s new supreme leader on Thursday condemned “enemies” for the attack without naming the U.S. President Donald Trump initially blamed Tehran, improbably claiming they possessed Tomahawks, but pledged Monday to accept the probe’s conclusions: “Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”
Experts like Annie Shiel of the Center for Civilians in Conflict hailed the escalation as acknowledgment “that something went wrong,” stressing comprehensive analysis for accountability.
A Reuters visual probe revealed the school’s longstanding public profile via its website, part of the IRGC-linked Persian Gulf Martyrs’ network. Photos matched post-strike footage, and satellite images since 2015 showed it walled off from the base, with murals dating to 2018 confirming educational use.
If confirmed, the incident could rank among the deadliest U.S.-caused civilian losses in decades of Middle East operations.