WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has escalated its investigation into the Feb. 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, Iran, after an internal military inquiry indicated U.S. forces were likely responsible for one of the deadliest reported civilian-casualty incidents of the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the case is now being handled as a higher-level command investigation led by a general officer outside U.S. Central Command, a move that typically gives investigators more independence and can support disciplinary action if the findings warrant it, March 13.
Iranian officials say 168 children were killed in the strike, though that figure has not been independently verified. What has pushed the case into a more serious phase is not only the preliminary finding of likely U.S. responsibility, but also a growing record suggesting the school was identifiable as a civilian site long before it was hit.
What the Iran school strike investigation is now examining
A Reuters visual investigation found the school had a yearslong online presence, playground markings visible in satellite imagery and outer walls painted with bright murals, even though it sat beside an IRGC-linked compound. That reporting raises a core question for investigators: how a site with repeated civilian indicators ended up in a strike package at all.
The public timeline has also hardened over the last week. Reuters first reported March 6 that investigators were leaning toward a preliminary finding that U.S. forces were likely responsible. It then reported March 11 that officials familiar with the matter believed outdated targeting data may have been used, suggesting the error may have begun with stale or insufficiently reviewed intelligence rather than a last-second weapon malfunction.
If that account holds, the Pentagon will face questions that go beyond whether the wrong building was hit. Investigators will also need to establish when the target file was last updated, who cleared it before strikes began, and whether the proximity of an Iranian military site overshadowed evidence that children were still using the campus.
Why the Iran school strike is drawing wider scrutiny
The pressure is no longer coming only from journalists and outside analysts. U.N. experts have called for an independent investigation, describing the attack as a grave assault on children and education. On Capitol Hill, more than 40 Senate Democrats demanded answers from Hegseth about the intended target, the chain of authorization, whether a no-strike list existed and whether artificial intelligence tools played any role in planning or execution.
The Pentagon’s public stance has shifted as that scrutiny has intensified. President Donald Trump initially suggested Iran might have been responsible, then later said he would accept the final findings. Hegseth has stopped short of acknowledging U.S. fault, but he has emphasized that the military does not deliberately target civilians and that the investigation will take as long as necessary.
For now, the Minab strike has moved from a disputed battlefield episode to a formal test of U.S. military accountability. If investigators confirm the preliminary assessment, the next questions will be whether the Pentagon discloses enough of the targeting process to explain the error, whether any personnel face discipline and how quickly civilian-harm safeguards are tightened while the conflict is still underway.
