Five former US officials criticized the Pentagon for not publicly addressing possible American involvement in the deadly strike on a school in Minab, Iran, during Operation Epic Fury, the BBC reported.
The strike took place on February 28, at the beginning of the war with Iran. A missile hit a primary school, killing 168 people, including around 110 children, according to Iranian officials. The Pentagon has said the incident remains under investigation.
While initial headlines from US media reported that military investigators believed American forces were likely responsible for the strike. No final conclusion had been reached, and the Pentagon has not commented on those reports.
According to the BBC, some former officials said it was unusual that the US Department of Defense had not released additional details about the strike after several weeks. In response to questions, a Pentagon official said the matter is still under review and that further information would be provided when available.
In early March, US President Trump accused Iran of hitting the school. Later, when US media reported that an American Tomahawk missile hit the base next to the school, he said that he had not seen evidence of this, and claimed that Iran had Tomahawk missiles.
Retired Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham, a retired Judge Advocate General in the US Air Force and former senior legal adviser at US Central Command (CENTCOM) during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the BBC that the current response “strikingly departs from the standard response.”
"Administrations in the past at least demonstrated fidelity, a commitment to the law of war," he added.
Wes Bryant, a former Pentagon adviser on civilian harm mitigation, said a formal investigation is typically opened after determining that civilian harm occurred and that US forces may have been operating in the area.
Another former defense official, speaking anonymously, told the BBC that the case appeared “unusually opaque,” adding that such incidents are not usually complex enough to prevent earlier disclosure of information.
US Politians push Pentagon for answers on Minab school strike
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on March 4 that the incident was under investigation and that the US does not target civilian sites.
"All I can say is that we're investigating that. We of course never target civilian targets," he said.
A UN fact-finding mission said it requested access to the site but was not granted permission, according to the report.
Members of Congress have repeatedly requested information about the strike, including whether US forces were responsible. According to the BBC, Pentagon responses have not addressed those questions. Lawmakers were also told in briefings that they could not comment on the strike due to the ongoing investigation.
The BBC reported that in previous cases involving civilian casualties in US military operations, the Pentagon released more detailed information within a shorter period.
The other cases the BBC provided were the drone strike at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan in August 2021, the October 2015 bombing of a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, and an attack on the al-Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1991. Notably, the three cases happened under both Democratic and Republican administrations.