Nearly every Senate Democrat urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to open a swift investigation into a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children, as new reporting raised questions about whether outdated US targeting data contributed to the attack.
In a letter signed by 46 senators, the lawmakers called the results of the Feb. 28 strike “horrific,” noting that most of those killed were girls between the ages of 7 and 12.
The senators also asked for a broader review of any US military actions that may have caused civilian harm during the opening phase of the conflict.
Reuters reported Wednesday that two people familiar with the matter said the strike—one of the deadliest incidents involving civilians in decades of US conflicts—may have resulted from the use of outdated intelligence in the targeting process.
The news agency had earlier reported that an internal US military review found American forces were likely responsible for the attack on the school in the southern city of Minab.
Video circulated online that experts say appears to show a US Tomahawk missile striking the area, though the exact sequence of events remains unclear.
The Pentagon has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, saying only that the incident remains under investigation.
According to archived copies of the school’s website reviewed by Reuters, the campus was located next to a compound operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, has said the strike killed 150 students, a figure that has not been independently verified.
The senators asked the Defense Department to clarify whether US forces carried out the strike, what steps had been taken to mitigate civilian harm and what role artificial intelligence tools may have played in the targeting process.
The letter was signed by every member of the Senate Democratic caucus except Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
