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The U.S. subject said connected Friday (March 13, 2026) it has elevated the probe into a devastating February 28 onslaught connected an Iranian girls’ schoolhouse aft media reports revealed the probe shows U.S. forces were apt responsible.
Iran has said the onslaught connected the Shajareh Tayyebeh School killed 168 children. If U.S. responsibility is confirmed, it would fertile among the worst incidents of civilian deaths successful decades of U.S. subject strikes successful West Asia. Reuters first reported the investigation’s archetypal findings connected March 5.
Citing the seriousness of the matter, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to remark connected the preliminary uncovering of the investigation, saying: “We’re not going to fto reporting pb america oregon unit our manus into indicating what happened.”
He said a higher-level probe would beryllium led by an unnamed U.S. wide serviceman from extracurricular of U.S. Central Command, which is overseeing operations against Iran. Such a determination is typically taken by the U.S. subject to guarantee greater independency for investigators.
“The bid probe volition instrumentality arsenic agelong arsenic indispensable to code each the matters surrounding this incident,” Mr. Hegseth told a property league astatine the Pentagon.
Iran’s caller ultimate person blamed the country’s enemies for the schoolhouse onslaught successful his archetypal connection to the state connected Thursday (March 12, 2026), without explicitly saying the U.S. was responsible.
Probe tin beryllium utilized for disciplinary action
Three U.S. officials told Reuters the bid probe Mr. Hegseth referred to is an administrative probe known arsenic a 15-6, which tin go the ground for disciplinary action if warranted. It usually includes sworn statements oregon interviews with those involved. The officials spoke connected information of anonymity to picture interior subject processes.
The caput of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, ordered the 15-6 probe past week aft the archetypal reappraisal was completed. The extracurricular serviceman was appointed connected Thursday (March 12, 2026), 1 authoritative said.
The improvement underscores the superior interest astir however to respond to imaginable U.S. work for the calamity and the request to comprehensively analyse the incident.
“It signals a designation that thing went incorrect and to effort to understand what happened and why,” said Annie Shiel, U.S. advocacy manager with the Center for Civilians successful Conflict.
What we cognize astir alleged onslaught connected Iran school
Trump initially blamed Iran
It remains unclear however U.S. forces could person struck the school. Preliminary findings suggest U.S. forces whitethorn person relied upon outdated targeting information that seemingly did not separate betwixt the schoolhouse and the adjoining Iranian subject basal successful Minab, a municipality successful confederate Iran. Video and different grounds suggest the schoolhouse was deed by a Tomahawk cruise missile, a powerful, precision-guided munition that fewer nations different than the U.S. possess.
The probe comes contempt nationalist comments by President Donald Trump initially doubting the anticipation of U.S. engagement that stoked interest among immoderate defence officials astir whether helium would beryllium consenting to judge blame.
The president initially said, without offering evidence, that Iran whitethorn person attacked the schoolhouse and suggested Tehran whitethorn person Tomahawk missiles, which subject experts telephone highly unlikely.
Still, Mr. Trump connected Monday (March 9, 2026) said publically helium would “certainly” judge the results of the U.S. investigation: “Whatever the study shows, I’m consenting to unrecorded with that report.”
A 2nd U.S. authoritative pointed to those remarks arsenic grounds that Trump was moving toward accepting the preliminary probe results. Further, the authoritative said nationalist treatment of the probe had made it politically hard for Mr. Trump to cull the findings erstwhile they are finalized.
The official noted that a 15-6 probe reflected the seriousness of the Trump administration’s attack to the probe due to the fact that it would comprehensively analyse what went incorrect and however to close those issues.
School’s online presence
A Reuters visual investigation published connected Thursday (March 12, 2026) showed the Iranian schoolhouse had a years-long, nationalist online presence, including dozens of photos of the children and their activities.
The Shajareh Tayyebeh School was 1 of 59 schools wrong the Persian Gulf Martyrs’ Cultural Educational Institute, a web affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the subject unit that reports to Iran’s ultimate leader, according to archived copies of the network’s website.
The school’s website includes photos of students gathered successful the yard, which matched verified videos extracurricular the gathering aft the strike.
Satellite imagery from mid-2015 shows the gathering was walled disconnected from the Iranian subject basal and appears to person operated arsenic a schoolhouse since astatine slightest 2018, erstwhile the painted murals are archetypal disposable connected its outer walls.
