Additional Coverage:
U.S. Military Investigating Potential Role in Deadly Iran School Strike
The U.S. military is currently investigating whether its forces were responsible for a strike in Iran last Saturday that tragically hit an elementary school, resulting in the deaths of dozens of children. Initial findings, according to two sources familiar with the matter, suggest that American forces were conducting strikes in the vicinity of the school at the time, while Israeli forces were not.
Iranian officials have claimed that the school was struck during “US-Israeli army strikes.” Reuters reported on Thursday that military investigators believe it is “likely” that U.S. forces are responsible. Iran’s education ministry reports that 168 people were killed in the attack, which completely destroyed a girls’ elementary school in Minab.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referred all inquiries about the strike to the Pentagon on Friday. Her deputy, Anna Kelly, emphasized, “There are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for anyone to claim otherwise. As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command have both declined to provide specific details on the ongoing probe.
“All I know — all I can say is that we’re investigating that,” Hegseth told reporters on Thursday when questioned about the incident. He reiterated, “We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins stated that “it would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation.”
Lt. Col.
Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, informed ABC News the day after the attack that Israel was not operating in the area of the school. “So far, we have found no connection to any IDF activity.
No IDF activity in that area at all, but we’re looking into it,” Shoshani said.
An analysis of satellite imagery conducted by ABC News indicates that the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab was once near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps compound. However, a comparison of Google Earth images from 2013 and 2016 shows that a wall was constructed during that period, effectively separating the school from what was previously a cluster of IRGC buildings.