Washington: Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress are pressing the Pentagon for answers after reports that a US strike during Operation Epic Fury hit a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing at least 175 civilians — many of them children — prompting calls for a full investigation, accountability, and stronger safeguards to prevent civilian casualties.
Members of the House and Senate said the incident, which reportedly occurred on February 28 near the town of Minab, could represent one of the deadliest civilian casualty events linked to recent US military operations in the Middle East.
Representative Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico said he has sent a letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding “detailed information about the steps the US is taking to prevent and respond to civilian harm,” including an assessment of casualties caused by the airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure may under no circumstances be the object of attack and must at all times be respected and protected by all parties,” Vasquez and other lawmakers wrote. “We seek detailed information regarding civilian protection during Operation Epic Fury and steps the military is taking to mitigate and respond to civilian harm.”
Separately, Congressman Jason Crow and more than 120 Democratic members of Congress also asked the Pentagon for answers about the strike and broader civilian casualties reported during the ongoing war in Iran.
The lawmakers said they were “particularly disturbed by reports of what appears to be the deadliest attack on civilians thus far: a girls’ elementary school, where at least 175 civilians, many of them children, were reported killed and 100 children and staff wounded.”
In their letter, they requested detailed information about the targeting process, civilian harm risk assessments, and the steps taken by the military to prevent or respond to civilian casualties during Operation Epic Fury.
They also asked the Defence Department whether artificial intelligence tools were used in selecting targets and whether any such systems were subject to human verification before strikes were authorised.
The lawmakers further urged the Pentagon to make public the findings of the ongoing investigation into the school strike and other reported civilian casualty incidents during the operation.
Another group of senators, including Mark Warner, Brian Schatz, Patty Murray, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed and Chris Coons, issued a statement condemning the reported attack.
“We are horrified by the latest reports concerning the February 28th strike on an Iranian elementary school near the town of Minab, which resulted in the killing of at least 175 people, most of whom were school children,” the senators said.
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” they added, urging a thorough and impartial investigation into the incident.
The pressure from Congress comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military has launched a formal probe into the strike.
“The command investigation will take as long as necessary to address all the matters surrounding this incident,” Hegseth said. He added that the military would examine the circumstances of the attack and disclose the findings when the inquiry is complete.
Hegseth also stressed that the United States does not intentionally target civilians, telling reporters: “We will investigate, we’ll get to the truth and we’ll share it when we have it.”
The controversy comes amid mounting scrutiny over civilian casualties linked to the Trump administration’s war in Iran and the conduct of Operation Epic Fury.
According to the letters sent by lawmakers, more than 1,000 civilians have reportedly been killed during the campaign so far, with concerns raised about strikes hitting schools, hospitals, public gathering places and other civilian infrastructure.
(IANS)
