Investigation continuing into attack on Iranian school

American military investigators believe US forces may have been responsible for Saturday’s strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, but no final conclusion has yet been reached. Two US officials told Reuters that the investigation is still under way.

The school in the city of Minab was hit on the first day of the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran. According to Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, up to 150 students were killed in the strike. Reuters reported earlier this week that Iran had put the death toll at more than 160.

The Pentagon has confirmed that it is investigating the incident. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military does not intentionally target civilian sites, but that the circumstances of the strike must be thoroughly examined. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the United States would not have deliberately targeted the school.

It remains unclear what munition was used or why the school may have been hit. Investigators also acknowledge that further evidence could yet rule out US responsibility and point to another party.

The United Nations has called for a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into the incident. Under international humanitarian law, a deliberate attack on a school or other civilian infrastructure could amount to a war crime.

(reuters, est)