US lawmakers press Pentagon to release findings on deadly Iran school strike

A group of Democratic U.S. senators has called on the Pentagon to publicly release the findings of its investigation into a February strike on a girls' school in Iran that killed more than 175 children and teachers, Defence News says.

Led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, more than two dozen lawmakers, including Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed, urged the Trump administration in a letter to finalise the investigation within the next week, brief Congress and outline measures to prevent similar incidents.

Reuters reported on March 5 that an initial internal U.S. military investigation found American forces were likely responsible for the February 28 strike in the city of Minab, which occurred on the opening day of the war with Iran.

"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.

Responding to Reuters, a Pentagon official said: "The investigation is ongoing. We do not have any updates to announce at this time."

According to Iranian officials, the strike killed more than 175 children and teachers. The senators noted that, if confirmed, it would represent the deadliest civilian casualty incident involving the U.S. military since the 1991 bombing of a shelter in Iraq that killed more than 400 civilians.

Archived versions of the school's website indicate the facility was located next to a compound operated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Reuters has previously reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that U.S. officials responsible for preparing targeting packages appeared to have relied on outdated intelligence.

Speaking before Congress in May, U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper described the inquiry as "complex" because the school was situated on an active Iranian cruise missile base.

President Donald Trump has questioned whether investigators will ever be able to determine exactly what happened.

"Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn't our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was," Trump said on June 24, adding: "I don't think it was us."

Iran has described the strike as a U.S. war crime, while Washington maintains that it does not intentionally target civilians.

In their letter, the lawmakers asked Admiral Cooper and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide Congress and the public with an unclassified version of the investigation's findings. They also requested a prevention and remediation plan "that identifies the specific corrective actions the Department will take to ensure this does not happen again."

"The United States military has a legal and moral obligation to take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm," the letter said.

"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."

By Aghakazim Guliyev