Reed, Colleagues Demand Pentagon Release Investigation of Deadly Iran School Strike Without Further Delay

WASHINGTON, DC - On February 28, 2026, within hours of the Trump Administration initiating 'Operation Epic Fury,' a U.S. missile is reported to have struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, killing over 175 people. Most of the victims, approximately 120 individuals, were innocent children. If those reports are accurate, this incident is one of the U.S. military's deadliest civilian casualty incidents in decades.

While news reports of the February 28 incident indicate the U.S. knew it made a tragic mistake in carrying out the deadly strike almost immediately, the Department of Defense has yet to disclose its findings, accept blame, or hold anyone accountable for the grave error.

On March 11, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined several colleagues demanding that the Department of Defense provide the American people with transparency about the incident. Reed says 135 days after the strike, the Trump Administration has an obligation to provide the full investigation to Congress and share its finding with the public.

Today, Senator Reed joined U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and 23 of their colleagues in demanding answers from DOD about the deadly strike.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Admiral Brad Cooper, the 25 Senators urged the swift release of the Pentagon's investigation into the school strike, which was reportedly submitted in April, but remains under review by senior officials. They also requested that the Pentagon provide Congress with a comprehensive plan to ensure that this type of incident does not happen again.

"More than four months after the strike, and after the reported submission of the investigation in April, Congress and the American people still have not received the Department's investigation and findings," the senators wrote. "There is no justification for withholding an unclassified accounting of what happened, what went wrong, and what the Department is doing to prevent recurrence."

On March 5, Reuters first reported that U.S. military investigators believed U.S. forces were likely responsible for the Minab strike. Days later, Pentagon officials reportedly concluded through their preliminary investigation that a U.S. Tomahawk missile had struck the school. Investigators have also reportedly found that multiple failures led the school to be targeted in error, including missed 2019 remarks by an intelligence analyst indicating that the site had changed from a naval facility to a school. The remarks were reportedly entered into a digital system that was not connected to the authoritative targeting database, and officials planning the strike used imagery that had not been updated in several years and did not show a school at the site.

"These reported issues, if accurate, raise deeply troubling questions about the integrity of U.S. target development, the adequacy of target validation and vetting procedures, the interoperability of intelligence and targeting databases, the timeliness and reliability of intelligence used for lethal targeting, and the Department's implementation of civilian harm mitigation policies," the senators wrote. "They also raise urgent questions about whether the Department has sufficient targeting personnel, training, accountability mechanisms, and technical safeguards to support large-scale conventional operations.

Despite this reporting, Trump administration officials have not publicly taken responsibility for the strike or the resultant civilian deaths. President Trump himself has suggested multiple times that the strike was not the U.S.' fault and has even blamed Iran. Additionally, Secretary Hegseth has spent his tenure deriding the rules of engagement and cutting DoD programs that aim to prevent harm to civilians during war, including slashing civilian harm mitigation and response staff at the U.S. combatant commands by over 90 percent.

The senators concluded, "The United States military has a legal and moral obligation to take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm. When a U.S. strike kills civilians, the Department owes Congress, the American people, and the victims' families a clear accounting of what happened and a credible plan to prevent future failures."

In addition to Gillibrand and Reed, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

Full text of the letter follows:

Dear Secretary Hegseth and Admiral Cooper:

We write regarding the Department of Defense's investigation into the February 28, 2026 strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School for girls in Minab, Iran, which reportedly killed approximately 120 children and at least 175 people in total. If true, this incident would constitute the U.S. military's largest civilian casualty incident since 1991. The Department must promptly provide Congress with the complete and unredacted investigation, and submit a concrete plan to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again.

Recent press reporting indicates that the investigation ordered by Admiral Cooper was submitted in April but remains under review by senior DoD leadership. That reporting further indicates that investigators have identified multiple potential failures, including that an analyst noted as early as 2019 that the site appeared to have changed from a naval facility into a school, but that remark was entered into a digital intelligence tool that was not connected to the authoritative targeting database used to develop strike targets. The reporting also indicates that the site was reviewed multiple additional times in subsequent years without the targeting database being updated. Additional reporting from this week alleges that warnings were made in the system indicating the intelligence for the targets was dated, but those warnings were ignored for "expediency" even though the Administration spent weeks planning for President Trump's war of choice.

These reported issues, if accurate, raise deeply troubling questions about the integrity of U.S. target development, the adequacy of target validation and vetting procedures, the interoperability of intelligence and targeting databases, the timeliness and reliability of intelligence used for lethal targeting, and the Department's implementation of civilian harm mitigation policies. They also raise urgent questions about whether the Department has sufficient targeting personnel, training, accountability mechanisms, and technical safeguards to support large-scale conventional operations.

More than four months after the strike, and after the reported submission of the investigation in April, Congress and the American people still have not received the Department's investigation and findings. There is no justification for withholding an unclassified accounting of what happened, what went wrong, and what the Department is doing to prevent recurrence.

Accordingly, we request that the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command take the following actions no later than July 20, 2026:

1. Promptly finalize the investigation into the February 28 strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School and provide Congress with the complete and unredacted investigation.

2. Provide an unclassified version of the report to Congress, suitable for public release.

3. Submit to Congress a prevention and remediation plan that identifies the specific corrective actions the Department will take to ensure this does not happen again.

4. Provide a briefing to Congress on the investigation and all steps being taken to ensure errors of this kind do not happen again.

The United States military has a legal and moral obligation to take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm. When a U.S. strike kills civilians, the Department owes Congress, the American people, and the victims' families a clear accounting of what happened and a credible plan to prevent future failures.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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