Top Democratic senators in the United States have called for an investigation into the strike against a girls’ school in southern Iran, saying that the Pentagon must “provide clear answers” about the incident that killed at least 170 people.
Six lawmakers said in a joint statement late on Sunday that they are “horrified” by the bombing of the elementary school in Minab during the opening US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” said the senators who serve as the top Democrats on national security panels.
The push comes as new footage of the attack suggested that the site of the school was likely hit by a Tomahawk missile – a weapon used by the US that Israel and Iran do not possess.
The bombing of the elementary school in Minab has become emblematic of the growing civilian death toll from the conflict.
Iranian officials have said that US and Israeli strikes have damaged other schools as well as dozens of medical centres, residential buildings, street markets, a water desalination plant and other civilian targets.
US and Israeli attacks have killed 1,255 people – mostly civilians – in Iran since the start of the war, according to Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian.
“They were living in their homes or [were] at their workplace,” the health minister said.
In their statement, the US senators noted that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has openly boasted about loosening the rules of engagement in the attacks against Iran to allow US forces to bomb the country with little restraint.
“Secretary Hegseth needs to ensure the Department of Defense’s ongoing investigation into this strike is thorough, including whether any policy 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 legislators – who include Brian Schatz, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren – said the “incident and any like it must be fully and impartially reviewed”.
Last week, Hegseth told reporters that US jets are unleashing the “most lethal” strikes on Iran with “maximum authorities”.
“No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars – we fight to win, and we don’t waste time or lives,” he said on March 2.
Days later, Hegseth emphasised that the rules of engagement are meant “to unleash American power, not shackle it”.
Despite mounting evidence and multiple visual investigations by news outlets suggesting that the strike on Minab was carried out with US weapons, US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of bombing the school.
“In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said last week.
For his part, Hegseth has stopped short of echoing the US president’s claim, stressing on multiple occasions over the past days that the Pentagon is investigating the incident.
US needs to stop focusing on denial’
Annie Shiel, US director at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), said there have been numerous incidents in recent years where the US “reflexively” denies civilian harm “only for investigations by the media, civil society, and the US military itself to prove otherwise”.
In 2021, the Pentagon initially denied killing civilians in a strike during the withdrawal in Afghanistan, calling the attack a “righteous” one that targeted ISIL (ISIS).
But weeks later, it acknowledged that the attack was a “tragic mistake” that killed 10 people, including seven children, after independent investigations confirmed the identities of the victims.
Shiel said the Trump administration is treating the “devastating” strike in Minab like a public relations issue.
“The US needs to stop focusing on denial and get to the truth about what happened and why through a thorough, transparent, independent investigation,” Shiel told Al Jazeera.
On Friday, United Nations experts condemned the Minab attack as a “grave assault on children”.
“An attack on a functioning school during class hours raises the most serious concerns under international law and must be urgently, independently, and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations,” they said.
“There is no excuse for killing girls in a classroom.”