WASHINGTON — Senior U.S.military officials are in the final stages of reviewing an internal investigation into a deadly airstrike on an Iranian elementary school and preparing to share it with lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the probe.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.But there is growing concern in Congress and the Pentagon that the Trump administration will classify and shield its results from the public, four congressional officials and the person familiar with the investigation said.U.S.Central Command, which was leading the investigation, has completed it, according to the person familiar with the probe.
Lawmakers with oversight over the Pentagon have not received any details of its results or a timeline on when they might, this person said.Asked about the strike Wednesday, specifically whether he would hold anyone in his administration accountable for it, President Donald Trump said, “mistakes are made, war is nasty.” He said that the strike remains under investigation and that while a report could be released as early as Thursday, reporters should ask Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who is overseeing the process.A Pentagon spokesperson said the matter is still under investigation.
Marking the investigation classified would greatly curtail access to how the deadliest attack on civilians during the U.S.and Israeli war with Iran happened.
The strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab occurred on the first day of the war, killing more than 170 people, most of them children.The U.S.
military had been targeting the area near the school Feb.28, and preliminary findings showed that a U.S.
munition was likely responsible for the strike, NBC News has reported, citing an American official and a person familiar with the preliminary findings.The length of time it has taken the military to complete the investigation — nearly four months — as well as difficul...