By Elsie Kamsiyochi
A preliminary U.S. military investigation has indicated that American forces may have been responsible for a devastating strike that hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, killing large numbers of students and triggering international outrage.
Two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation told Reuters that early findings point toward likely U.S. involvement, though the inquiry has not yet reached a final conclusion and remains ongoing.
The strike occurred on Saturday in the city of Minab, located in Iran’s Hormozgan Province, during the opening hours of a broader wave of attacks carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces against Iranian military infrastructure.
According to Iranian officials, the attack struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school and surrounding buildings, leaving scores of children dead. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, claimed that approximately 150 students were killed in the incident, though the exact death toll has not been independently verified.
American defense officials have acknowledged that the Pentagon is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the strike. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed earlier this week that the Department of Defense had launched an investigation, emphasizing that the United States does not intentionally target civilian infrastructure.
“We’re investigating that,” Hegseth said during a press briefing. “We, of course, never target civilian targets. But we are taking a look at the incident to determine exactly what happened.”
The officials who spoke to Reuters did so on the condition of anonymity because the investigation involves sensitive military operations. They stressed that while preliminary findings suggest the possibility of U.S. responsibility, investigators have not ruled out the chance that new evidence could point to another actor or reveal a different explanation for the strike.
At this stage, key details remain unclear. Investigators are still working to determine what type of weapon was used, who authorized the strike, and whether the school itself was the intended target. It also remains uncertain whether the strike resulted from faulty intelligence, a targeting error, or proximity to other military facilities.
Archived versions of the school’s website indicate that the girls’ school is located adjacent to a compound associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the powerful military organization that reports directly to Iran’s supreme leader. Analysts say this proximity may have played a role in the strike, particularly if the IRGC facility was being targeted during the broader military campaign.
The Pentagon declined to provide additional details while the investigation is ongoing. When contacted by Reuters, the U.S. Central Command referred questions back to the Department of Defense. Captain Timothy Hawkins, a spokesperson for Central Command, said it would be inappropriate to comment further while the inquiry is underway.
The White House also avoided commenting directly on the preliminary findings but defended the U.S. military’s conduct. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the United States does not deliberately target civilians.
“While the Department of War is currently investigating this matter, the Iranian regime targets civilians and children, not the United States of America,” she said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that message earlier in the week, telling reporters that American forces would never intentionally strike a school.
“If that was our strike, the Department of War would be investigating it,” Rubio said, directing further questions to military officials.
Satellite imagery and analysis have added to the emerging picture of the attack. Images reviewed by Reuters show extensive damage to the school and nearby structures, suggesting multiple nearly simultaneous explosions. Analysts believe the damage pattern is consistent with air-delivered munitions.
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the weapons research consultancy Armament Research Services, examined the satellite images and footage of the aftermath. He said the evidence suggests the site was struck by explosive munitions likely delivered from the air.
“Taken together, the satellite imagery and available videos suggest the school and adjacent IRGC compound were hit by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes,” he said in an email analysis.
However, Jenzen-Jones cautioned that determining responsibility with certainty requires more evidence, particularly fragments of the weapon used in the attack. Such remnants can help investigators identify the type of munition and which military force is most likely to have deployed it.
The United Nations has called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident. Speaking in Geneva, U.N. human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the responsibility to investigate lies with the forces that carried out the attack.
“The onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it,” she said.
Images broadcast by Iranian state television showed the aftermath of the tragedy, including large funeral processions for the victims. Small coffins draped in Iranian flags were carried by mourners through crowds before being laid to rest, scenes that have fueled anger and grief across the country.
Under international humanitarian law, intentionally targeting civilian facilities such as schools or hospitals is considered a potential war crime. Even if a military target is located nearby, attacking forces are required to take precautions to minimize harm to civilians.
If the investigation ultimately confirms that U.S. forces were responsible for the strike, the incident could become one of the most significant cases of civilian casualties linked to American military operations in the Middle East in decades. It would also likely intensify diplomatic tensions and scrutiny of the broader U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
For now, U.S. investigators continue to review intelligence, operational data, and physical evidence in an effort to determine exactly what happened in Minab and whether the strike was the result of a tragic mistake, faulty targeting, or another factor yet to be uncovered.
Source Reuters
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