The U.S. military has completed its investigation into an airstrike that killed more than 170 people at an Iranian elementary school, but the Trump administration faces mounting pressure over whether it will allow the public to see the results.
U.S. Central Command finished the probe weeks ago, yet Congress has received no details and no timeline for release, according to people familiar with the matter. Senior Pentagon officials are now in final review stages before deciding whether to share findings with lawmakers, but there is widespread concern the administration will classify the report and bury its conclusions.
The strike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab on February 28, the opening day of the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Preliminary findings have indicated a U.S. munition was likely responsible, and video evidence analyzed by experts shows what appears to be an American Tomahawk missile striking a compound adjacent to the school.
When asked Wednesday whether anyone in his administration would be held accountable for the strike, President Trump said, "mistakes are made, war is nasty." He indicated a report could arrive as early as Thursday but deflected to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on specifics. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to provide details beyond noting the matter remains under investigation.
Democratic senators are openly bracing for classification. One told NBC News, "Of course they are going to try to classify the report." Another said, "I'd be shocked speechless if they didn't say it was classified." Their concern centers on Defense Secretary Hegseth, who oversees the release decision.
Classifying the investigation would represent a dramatic reversal from prior Pentagon practice. During the first Trump administration, the military publicly disclosed its role in civilian casualties from a special forces raid in Yemen and a bombing in Iraq that killed more than 100 people. The Obama administration publicly acknowledged an attack on an Afghan hospital that killed at least 42 people. Even the George W. Bush administration released findings on a drone strike in Afghanistan that killed 10 civilians.
Admiral Bradley Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, pledged transparency to lawmakers last month during sworn testimony. "As soon as the investigation is complete, I'm fully committed to transparency," he said, calling it a complex matter nearing completion at the time.
The preliminary findings have pointed to outdated intelligence as a likely cause of the strike. Meanwhile, the question of artificial intelligence's role in target selection has also drawn congressional scrutiny. In a March letter, 120 Democrats pressed Hegseth on whether AI systems, including the Maven Smart System, were used to identify the school as a target and what human review occurred.
Trump initially suggested without evidence that Iran or "other countries" could be responsible. "In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran," he told reporters less than two weeks after the strike. But officials familiar with the preliminary findings expect the final report to confirm U.S. responsibility.
The four month timeline to complete the investigation, combined with documented difficulties lawmakers have faced obtaining information about the broader conflict from the Pentagon, has fueled expectations that an attempt to conceal the report may be coming. One person familiar with the probe said plainly, "Our concern is that Hegseth will classify the report and prevent it from being released."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Classifying a report on 170 dead children at a school would be a stunning departure from established Pentagon practice, and Congress is right to worry about it happening anyway."
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