Pentagon Faces Fresh Questions Over Iran School Strike

Pentagon Faces Fresh Questions Over School Strike That 'Killed More Than 100 Children'

Source Amnesty USA

A major Associated Press investigation has renewed scrutiny over one of the most controversial incidents of the recent US-Iran conflict, claiming a US missile strike on an Iranian primary school left more than 100 children dead while the Pentagon has yet to publish the findings of its own investigation.

According to the AP reconstruction, the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in the city of Minab was the deadliest single reported strike of the war. Drawing on satellite imagery, video footage, human rights reports and interviews with researchers, witnesses and US officials, the news agency says at least 123 children and dozens of adults were killed when multiple munitions struck the school compound on February 28.

Families Still Waiting For Answers

The report claims teachers had begun sending pupils home after hearing of the outbreak of fighting elsewhere in Iran when explosions tore through the school minutes later. Rescue workers reportedly recovered children's backpacks, books and personal belongings as desperate families searched through the rubble for survivors.

More than four months later, relatives of those killed say they are still waiting for answers over exactly what happened.

Pentagon Yet To Release Investigation

According to the AP, the US military quickly became aware that a school may have been struck and launched an internal investigation. However, the Pentagon has not publicly released its findings, nor formally accepted responsibility for the incident.

President Donald Trump recently said he had not seen the report and questioned whether the strike could be definitively attributed to US forces, telling reporters there had been "missiles flying all over the place" during the conflict.

Questions Over Targeting Process

The investigation also cites unnamed US officials who reportedly acknowledged that intelligence analysts had previously identified the building as a school years earlier, but that information may not have been properly shared during target planning.

Human rights organisations continue to demand greater transparency, while members of Congress have also called for the Pentagon to publish its findings. Until then, one of the deadliest reported incidents of the conflict remains surrounded by unanswered questions, disputed claims and growing demands for accountability.

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