Probe points to possible US role in Iran school strike

United States military investigators believe it is likely that American forces were responsible for an apparent strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran that killed scores of children, though officials say the inquiry is still continuing and no final conclusion has been reached, sources said.

Two US officials told Reuters that investigators consider US involvement probable in the incident that struck a school in Minab. However, they stressed that the assessment remains tentative, and new evidence could still emerge identifying another party responsible for it.

The strike occurred on the first day of joint US and Israeli military operations in Iran. Iranian officials reported that 150 students were killed. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that the military was investigating the incident.

The United States does not intentionally target civilian sites but is reviewing available information, he said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while the Department of War is investigating the incident, Iran has a record of targeting civilians.

Satellite imagery analysis suggested the school and an adjacent compound operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were struck 
by multiple near-simultaneous explosive attacks, likely using air-delivered munitions, according to armament research experts.

NR Jenzen-Jones of Armament Research Services said while imagery and videos indicate aerial explosive strikes, definitive identification of munitions requires examination of remnants and further forensic evidence.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has called for an impartial investigation. UN rights chief Volker Turk urged Washington to conduct a transparent probe “very quickly”, stressing the need for accountability and justice for victims.

He said deliberate attacks on  schools or hospitals could constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law. Funeral ceremonies for victims were shown on Iranian state television, with small coffins wrapped in Iranian flags carried toward burial sites by mourners.

Officials noted that US and Israeli forces have reportedly divided their attacks geographically and by target type during the ongoing conflict, with airstrikes focusing on southern Iranian sites.
If US responsibility is confirmed, the attack would represent one of  the deadliest civilian casualty incidents linked to American military operations in the Middle East in recent decades.