(Newsweek)- An internal U.S. military investigation has determined that the United States was responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike that hit an elementary school in Iran, killing over 170 children and wounding more, U.S. officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings told The New York Times.
A Pentagon spokesperson told Newsweek that “the incident is under investigation.”
The February 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in the town of Minab was the result of a targeting error during U.S. attacks on a nearby Iranian military base, officials said, per The New York Times. Investigators found that U.S. forces relied on outdated intelligence data that incorrectly identified the school building as part of the military facility.
Officials stressed the findings are preliminary and that key questions remain as the investigation continues.
President Donald Trump previously blamed Iran for the bombing of the elementary school.
On February 28, the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran after failed talks between the U.S. and Iran to address Iran’s nuclear program, sending the Middle East into a conflict that widened in the days that followed. U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people in Iran, which has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab allies hosting U.S. forces, including bases in Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
The conflict has killed more than 1,800 people overall, with at least seven U.S. troops being killed in the crisis.
Trump was asked about the report and whether he takes responsibility for the attack on Wednesday.
“I don’t know about that,” Trump responded.
Meanwhile, a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raising concerns about the bombing.
“These civilian harm events are not taking place in a vacuum. As Secretary of Defense, you set the tone for U.S. military conduct, and your recent comments send a clear message of disregard for the laws of war. On March 3, you said that Operation Epic Fury would have ‘no stupid rules of engagement.’ On March 4, you said while describing U.S. military operations in Iran that there will be ‘death and destruction from the sky all day long.’ This rhetoric only serves to endanger civilians, including American citizens, in the region and around the globe,” the letter said.
The U.S. is “bound by international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution,” the lawmakers wrote, describing it as “unacceptable” to suggest otherwise.
They described the results of the bombing as “horrific.”
“The majority of those killed in the strikes were girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old. Neither the United States nor the Israeli Government has yet taken responsibility for this attack,” they wrote.
They called for a “swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm.” The findings must be released to the public “as soon as possible.”
Iranian Elementary School Bombing: What To Know
The bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School occurred during school hours, the Associated Press reported. It was among the earliest and deadliest reported mass-casualty attacks of the war.
The girls were aged 7 to 12, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner.
An AP review of satellite imagery shows the school largely decimated. The school was near an IRGC compound, the Seyyed Al-Shohada Cultural Complex of the Guard, which is likely why it was struck, according to the AP. Two anonymous officials earlier told Reuters that U.S. military investigators believed American forces were likely responsible for the attack.
The U.S. has said its forces were targeting Iranian naval assets, and the school in Minab, in Hormozgan province, was near the barracks for the IRGC’s naval brigade, according to the AP.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Reuters that the U.S. government “would not deliberately target a school.”
Elementary School Bombing Sparked Global Outrage
According to the United Nations, schools are civilian objects and children who are protected under international humanitarian law. Directing attacks toward them would be prohibited. A statement released by U.N. experts condemned the attack as a “grave assault on children, on education, and on the future of an entire community.”
“An attack on a functioning school during class hours raises the most serious concerns under international law and must be urgently, independently, and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations,” the experts said. “Civilians must never be treated as collateral.”
The bombing represents “the most flagrant examples of how conflict can steal girls’ futures in an instant, extinguishing not only young lives, but also the hopes, agency, and opportunities education makes possible,” the statement said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned the bombing as a “massacre,” Politico reported on Wednesday.
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai condemned the strikes in a February 28 post on X.
“I am heartbroken and appalled by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, including reports that a girls’ school in southern Iran was hit, resulting in the injury and death of many girls. The killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable, and I condemn it unequivocally. My heart is with the children, families and communities affected by escalation across the region,” Yousafzai wrote.
“I stand firmly against violence and the targeting of schools and civilians. I call for the escalation of violence across the region to end. Justice and accountability must follow. All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said in an interview with CNN this week: “I think it is likely the United States that carried out this attack on the school. I think it’s unforgivable under any circumstances, but the fact that this was one of our first targeting decisions that this mistake was made, on the first day of war, I think speaks to the incompetence of our leadership in the Department of Defense.”
