US Lawmakers Demand Impartial Investigation into Deadly Iran School Attack

Washington D.C. Democratic lawmakers on Monday urged the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon, to conduct an impartial investigation into an attack on an Iranian school that allegedly resulted in dozens of deaths.

Iran has accused Israel and the United States of attacking a primary school in the southern city of Minab at the start of the war. According to Iran, more than 150 people were killed in the explosion, most of whom were students.

US President Donald Trump continues to blame Iran for the incident, while the Pentagon stated it is investigating the matter.

Several high-ranking senators stated in a joint statement, "Independent analysis will reliably suggest whether the attack was carried out by the US military, and if this is confirmed to be true, it will be one of the worst incidents of civilian casualties in US military action in the Middle East in recent decades."

"The killing of schoolchildren is horrific and unacceptable under any circumstances," said Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, stating that a full and impartial review of this tragedy must be conducted.

The New York Times verified a video uploaded by Iran's semi-official Mehr News, which shows a US Tomahawk cruise missile striking a clinic structure near a Revolutionary Guards school.

According to the Times, the only power to use Tomahawks in this war is the United States military. While the US military stated it attacked naval targets near the Revolutionary Guards' base camp near the strategic 'Strait of Hormuz,' The Times, citing US military officials, reported that the explosion at the school was not carried out by their forces.

Lawmakers said, "This incident is even more alarming because they called it an 'openly belligerent approach' to Hegseth's use of force. He stated last week that US attacks in Iran would not be bound by 'foolish rules of engagement.'"

Signatories to the statement include 'Democrat' Jeanne Shaheen, the top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. AFP visited the explosion site and could not independently confirm the death toll or the details of the incident at the school.