Nearly every US Senate Democrat on Wednesday signed a letter sent to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requesting a “swift investigation” of airstrikes on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children and any other potential US military actions causing civilian harm.
Reuters reported on Thursday last week that US military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for the Feb. 28 strike on the school, as US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran.
“The results of this school attack are horrific. The majority of those killed in the strikes were girls between the ages of seven and 12 years old. Neither the United States nor the Israeli government has yet taken responsibility for this attack,” said the letter, signed by 46 senators.
Photo: Abbas Zakeri / Mehr News / West Asia News Agency via Reuters
The correspondence was signed by every member of the Senate Democratic caucus except John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a senator known for outspoken opinions and occasional defiance of the party.
Asked for comment, Fetterman said he supported the military and Israel in the operation, known as Epic Fury.
“The United States never intentionally targets civilians, including its own citizens, unlike Iran. Everyone agrees it was a tragedy. Everyone agrees on performing a full investigation,” he said in an e-mailed statement.
The letter asked for answers by Wednesday next week to a series of questions, including whether US forces conducted the strikes, what steps the military has taken to prevent and mitigate civilian harm and what role artificial intelligence tools have played in operations.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN on Tuesday said the US-Israeli strikes had killed more than 1,300 civilians.
No Republicans, who hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate, signed the letter.
Separately, US intelligence indicates that Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not at risk of collapse any time soon after nearly two weeks of relentless US and Israeli bombardment, three sources familiar with the matter said.
A “multitude” of intelligence reports provide “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse and “retains control of the Iranian public,” said one of the sources, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss US intelligence findings.
The latest report was completed within the past few days, the source said.
With political pressure building over soaring oil costs, US President Donald Trump has suggested he would end the biggest US military operation since 2003 “soon,” but finding an acceptable end to the war could be difficult if Iran’s hardline leaders remain firmly entrenched.
The intelligence reporting underscores the cohesion of Iran’s clerical leadership despite the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, the first day of the US and Israeli strikes.
Israeli officials in closed discussions have also acknowledged there is no certainty the war would lead to the clerical government’s collapse, a senior Israeli official said.
The sources stressed that the situation on the ground is fluid and that the dynamics inside Iran could change.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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