<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>5 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Top Democratic senators in the United States have called for an investigation into the strike against a girls\u2019 school in southern Iran, saying that the Pentagon must \u201cprovide clear answers\u201d about the incident that killed at least 170 people.<\/p>\n<p>Six lawmakers said in a joint statement late on Sunday that they are \u201chorrified\u201d by the bombing of the elementary school in Minab during the opening US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cThe killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,\u201d said the senators who serve as the top Democrats on national security panels.<\/p>\n<p>The push comes as new footage of the attack suggested that the site of the school was likely hit by a Tomahawk missile \u2013 a weapon used by the US that Israel and Iran do not possess.<\/p>\n<p>The bombing of the elementary school in Minab has become emblematic of the growing civilian death toll from the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Iranian officials have said that US and Israeli strikes have damaged other schools as well as dozens of medical centres, residential buildings, street markets, a water desalination plant and other civilian targets.<\/p>\n<p>US and Israeli attacks have killed 1,255 people \u2013 mostly civilians \u2013 in Iran since the start of the war, according to Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were living in their homes or [were] at their workplace,\u201d the health minister told Al Jazeera in a TV interview.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"hegseth-on-rules-of-engagement\">Hegseth on rules of engagement<\/h2>\n<p>In their statement, the US senators noted that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has openly boasted about loosening the rules of engagement in the attacks against Iran to allow US forces to bomb the country with little restraint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Hegseth needs to ensure the Department of Defense\u2019s ongoing investigation into this strike is thorough, including whether any policy decisions may have contributed to the catastrophe, and provide clear answers to the American public and Congress about how and why this tragedy unfolded,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>The legislators \u2013 who include Brian Schatz, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed and Elizabeth Warren \u2013 said the \u201cincident and any like it must be fully and impartially reviewed\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Hegseth told reporters that US jets are unleashing the \u201cmost lethal\u201d strikes on Iran with \u201cmaximum authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars \u2013 we fight to win, and we don\u2019t waste time or lives,\u201d he said on March 2.<\/p>\n<p>Days later, Hegseth emphasised that the rules of engagement are meant \u201cto unleash American power, not shackle it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Despite mounting evidence and multiple visual investigations by news outlets suggesting that the strike on Minab was carried out with US weapons, US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of bombing the school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my opinion and based on what I\u2019ve seen, that was done by Iran,\u201d Trump said last week.<\/p>\n<p>For his part, Hegseth has stopped short of echoing the US president\u2019s claim, stressing on multiple occasions over the past days that the Pentagon is investigating the incident.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"us-needs-to-stop-focusing-on-denial\">\u2018US needs to stop focusing on denial\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Annie Shiel, US director at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), said there have been numerous incidents in recent years where the US \u201creflexively\u201d denies civilian harm \u201conly for investigations by the media, civil society, and the US military itself to prove otherwise\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, the Pentagon initially denied killing civilians in a strike during the withdrawal in Afghanistan, calling the attack a \u201crighteous\u201d one that targeted ISIL (ISIS).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin:0px;padding:0px\">But weeks later,\u00a0it acknowledged that the attack was a \u201ctragic mistake\u201d that killed 10 people, including seven children, after independent investigations confirmed the identities of the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Shiel said the Trump administration is treating the \u201cdevastating\u201d strike in Minab like a public relations issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe US needs to stop focusing on denial and get to the truth about what happened and why through a thorough, transparent, independent investigation,\u201d Shiel told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, United Nations experts condemned the Minab attack as a \u201cgrave assault on children\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn attack on a functioning school during class hours raises the most serious concerns under international law and must be urgently, independently, and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no excuse for killing girls in a classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a05 mins info Top Democratic senators in the United States have called for an investigation into the strike against a girls\u2019 school in southern Iran, saying that the Pentagon must \u201cprovide clear answers\u201d about the incident that killed at least 170 people. Six lawmakers said in a joint statement late on Sunday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}