Questions mount for Hegseth over possible US involvement in strike on Iranian school

Democrats have written to ask the defence secretary whether the US was responsible, but he says the issue is being investigated.

A preliminary U.S. military investigation has found that outdated intelligence led to a deadly U.S. missile strike on an Iranian elementary school on February 28, 2026, killing over 165 people, many of them children. The incident has sparked intense scrutiny and political backlash in the U.S., particularly as the Defense Intelligence Agency’s outdated target data was reportedly used for the strike.

The Pentagon has barred photographers from covering Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's last two briefings on the ongoing war in Iran, deviating from established policy without offering an explanation. The Defense Department's relationship with the press has been increasingly strained under Hegseth, with many mainstream outlets leaving the Pentagon due to restrictive rules imposed by the Trump administration.

A deadly explosion at Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, on February 28, 2026, has drawn international condemnation after satellite imagery and expert analysis suggested it was caused by a U.S. airstrike. The blast, which killed over 165 people—most of them children—occurred during school hours and also struck adjacent buildings belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Newly analyzed footage points to a high likelihood that a U.S. Tomahawk missile struck a school in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28, killing at least 165 people. The video, examined by investigative group Bellingcat and geolocated by the Associated Press, shows a missile hitting a nearby compound adjacent to the school, which is located next to a Revolutionary Guard base.

A newly released video provides further evidence suggesting that a U.S. Tomahawk missile struck the Shajarah Tayyiba Primary School for girls in Minab, Iran, during the first wave of military attacks on February 28. The strike resulted in at least 175 deaths, including over 160 children. The video, released by Iran’s Mehr News Agency and authenticated by major media outlets including The New York Times and CNN, shows the missile impacting near the school adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps naval base.

In a tense moment during the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, President Donald Trump publicly contradicted Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth aboard Air Force One, insisting that a deadly missile strike on an Iranian girls' school was carried out by Iran. Hegseth hesitated, stating investigations were ongoing and clarifying that Iran typically targets civilians. Trump cut him off, blaming Iran's military inaccuracies.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has warned that Tuesday would be the “most intense” day of US strikes yet, even as he blamed Iran for civilian casualties by claiming its forces were firing missiles from schools and hospitals. Speaking alongside Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Hegseth alleged Iran was deliberately firing missiles from schools and hospitals, describing the country’s leadership as “desperate and scrambling like the terrorist cowards they are”.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has warned that Tuesday would be the 'most intense' day of US strikes yet, even as he blamed Iran for civilian casualties by claiming its forces were firing missiles from schools and hospitals.

When asked about the Saturday attack on an Iranian girls’ school that killed more than 160 people, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said the US is 'investigating'.

A group of senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers about the bombing of a school in Iran, where between 165 and 180 children, teachers, and parents were killed.