US Avoids Responsibility for School Attack in Iran
The United States again refrained from taking full responsibility for the deadly attack on a school in Iran that killed 155 people on the first day of the war. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper told a congressional oversight panel on Tuesday, 19 May, that the school was located in a sensitive military area. ‘The school itself sits on an active IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) cruise missile base,’ Cooper said. According to him, this makes the investigation far more complex than a typical airstrike.
The tragedy in the southern Iranian city of Minab on 28 February claimed the lives of 73 boys, 47 girls, 26 teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and one other adult. To date, Washington has consistently refused to acknowledge direct involvement, even as domestic and international pressure mounts.
Cooper’s statement drew a strong reaction from committee members. Adam Smith, a senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, criticised the military’s slow acknowledgement. ‘In the past, when we have made this kind of mistake, we owned up to it quickly, even if further investigation was required,’ Smith said.
When Cooper promised to share the results of the investigation when it is complete, Smith retorted, ‘So the answer is ’no’. We will not be accountable for something that is very clearly our doing.’
Earlier reports from leading outlets such as The New York Times said the school was struck by an American Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon not in Iran’s military inventory. CNN also reported similar findings pointing to U.S. responsibility.
On the politics side, U.S. President Donald Trump initially floated the claim that Iran might be behind the attack itself due to their ammunition’s alleged inaccuracy. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House have introduced impeachment proceedings against Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as a consequence of the incident, although the move is viewed as symbolic given Republican control of the parliament.
Separately, Israel has consistently denied any involvement in the attack. U.S. military officials continued to insist that their policy never targets civilians, although casualty data from Minab show a contrasting reality on the ground.
Recent investigations revealed the specifications of the American Tomahawk missile that killed 175 people at Shajarah Tayyebeh School in Iran. Read the technical details and the causes of the fatal error.
The U.S. military’s internal divisions deepened after soldiers refused to deploy to Iran following the Minab school tragedy. Draft issues came to the fore amid large-scale mobilisation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi condemned the UN Secretary-General for being more concerned about the global economy than civilian massacres, including 175 children in Minab.
Kazemi said the attack had killed and wounded students and teachers in several provinces, including Minab, Fars, Ilam, East Azerbaijan, Tehran and Qazvin.
U.S. forces reportedly fired on two civilian ships on the Oman–Iran route, killing five people, amid tensions in the Project Freedom operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The move was described as an effort to break the negotiations deadlock or to apply final pressure on Iran before the conflict ends.
CENTCOM called for hypersonic Dark Eagle missiles to reach Iran’s launch systems. This followed the failure of peace talks.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, 21 April, condemned the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship by U.S. forces. CENTCOM successfully intercepted the Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets rose to record highs amid hopes of peace.