United States military investigators are examining the possibility that US forces may have been responsible for an apparent strike on a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, which reportedly killed scores of children on Saturday. While officials describe the assessment as “likely” in preliminary findings, the investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion, and investigators have not ruled out that another party may be responsible, two US officials told Reuters.
Details about the ongoing probe remain limited. It is unclear what evidence led to the tentative assessment, what type of munitions were used, who specifically may have ordered the strike, or why US forces would have targeted the school. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday that the military is actively investigating the incident, emphasizing that US forces do not deliberately target civilian sites.
The strike occurred during the first day of joint US-Israeli military operations against Iran. Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, reported that 150 students were killed in the attack, though Reuters could not independently verify the death toll. Images broadcast on Iranian state television showed coffins draped in the national flag being carried to graves in a somber funeral procession.
US officials have not confirmed the reported casualty numbers. Pentagon spokesperson Captain Timothy Hawkins, representing US Central Command, declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation. The White House also refrained from direct comment, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that while the Department of War is investigating the matter, the Iranian regime targets civilians, not the United States.
Senator Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, said the US would not intentionally target schools. Hegseth reiterated that the military is reviewing the incident carefully and stressed that civilian targets are never intentionally attacked. A senior Israeli official indicated that US and Israeli strikes are coordinated but geographically divided: Israel focused on missile launch sites in western Iran, while the US targeted southern missile and naval sites.
The UN human rights office has called for an investigation into the strike, stating that the responsibility lies with the forces that carried out the attack. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani emphasized the importance of accountability. If US responsibility is confirmed, the strike would represent one of the deadliest incidents involving civilian casualties in decades of US Middle East operations. Under international humanitarian law, deliberately targeting schools or other civilian structures could constitute a war crime.
The investigation remains ongoing, and officials note that new evidence could shift responsibility away from US forces. The outcome of this probe will have significant implications for the conduct of US military operations and accountability in the region.
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