Pentagon Believes U.S. Military Likely Struck Iranian Elementary School That Killed Scores of Children: Report

The airstrike that struck an all-girls’ elementary school in southern Iran was likely carried out by the United States, U.S. military investigators believe, according to a report published by Reuters on Thursday night. Reuters cited “two U.S. officials.”

The U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on Saturday in a campaign that President Donald Trump said could last at least a month. He has refused to rule out deploying American soldiers to Iran.

The bombings killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of top Iranian officials over the weekend, which also saw a strike on the girls’ school in Minab. At least 175 people – mostly young girls – were killed in the bombing, according to the Iranian government.

“Reuters was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence ‌contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the U.S. might have struck the school,” the news agency stated.

The Trump administration has faced questions over the strike. Both White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said this week that the incident was being investigated.

Reuters added that it has not determined how long the probe will last.

Trump has said the bombings are necessary to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, which last year he said was “totally obliterated” in a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign last summer.

More than 1,000 civilians have died in the bombings since Saturday, according to a human rights watchdog. Six U.S. service members were killed in Kuwait in an Iranian retaliatory strike.

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