Probe Suggests US Responsible for Deadly Iran School Strike: Sources

American military investigators now think it's probable the US was responsible for the apparent strike that hit an Iranian girls' school over the weekend, reportedly killing dozens of children, according to two US officials who spoke to Reuters. A still-ongoing probe into the strike has not reached a final finding, and the officials—speaking anonymously—stressed that new evidence could yet shift blame away from the United States. They declined to say what kind of weapon may have been used, who ordered the strike, or why the school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit on Saturday, the first day of coordinated US and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran's ambassador in Geneva has claimed 150 students were killed, a figure Reuters has not independently verified.

The New York Times has a similar report; per its analysis of satellite imagery, videos, and more, the school appears to have been hit during an attack on an adjacent naval base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday that the military is examining the incident, saying: "We, of course, never target civilian targets. But we're taking a look and investigating that." A Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to US Central Command, which said it would be "inappropriate" to comment during an active investigation. The White House did not directly address the issue of US involvement; press secretary Karoline Leavitt instead said Iran, not Washington, is the side that "targets civilians and children."

US and Israeli forces have been splitting up their strikes inside Iran by region and target type, with Israel focusing on missile launch sites in the west and the US hitting those, plus naval targets, in the south, according to a senior Israeli official and another source. The UN human rights office has called for an inquiry, noting the burden is on whoever carried out the attack to investigate. Intentionally hitting a school or other civilian site could constitute a war crime under international law, and a confirmed US role would make this one of the deadliest civilian casualty events involving American forces in the Middle East in decades.