Pentagon Plans to Hold Report on Deadly Iran School Strike Until After Midterms, Report Says

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (TodayViralUSA) — Senior Pentagon officials intend to hold back an internal report on the U.S. airstrike that hit an elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections at the earliest, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg News.

Advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have told some Pentagon personnel of the plan, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations. No final decision has been made on when details will be released.

Deadliest U.S. targeting error of the century

The Feb. 28 strike on Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab killed more than 150 people, including at least 123 children, according to Bloomberg, making it the deadliest American military targeting error of the 21st century in terms of child casualties.

A previous Bloomberg investigation found that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an over-reliance on artificial intelligence contributed to the attack. The full U.S. probe began in March, and officials said the report has been all but complete for several months.

Asked about the timing, a Pentagon official said the investigation is ongoing and that there were “no updates to announce at this time.” U.S. Central Command, which carried out the strike, declined to comment.

Lawmakers demand release

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, called the reported delay “disgraceful” and “cowardly.” “We have waited months – release the report,” she said in a statement. “Congress and the American people deserve full transparency and accountability around this attack.”

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who served in Trump’s first term, told Bloomberg that “we should acknowledge our mistakes and fix it to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Congress may force the issue. The House Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill includes a provision from Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, requiring the Pentagon to hand the final Minab report to the panel within 30 days of its completion, and the Senate draft contains similar language covering civilian-harm investigations. Negotiators are still working on a final bill.

On Oct. 8, more than 70 Democratic lawmakers wrote to Hegseth pressing him on civilian casualties in Iran, saying they were “deeply alarmed by the continued pattern” of deaths and “the apparent lack of action and accountability.”