US again avoids taking responsibility for Iran school attack

A top commander of US forces in the Middle East avoided taking responsibility for an attack on a school in Iran that killed about 170 people, mostly schoolchildren, on day one of the war insisting a “complex” probe continues.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told a congressional oversight panel “the school itself is located on an active IRGC cruise missile base,” making the investigation “more complex than the average strike”. IRGC stands for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The attack killed 73 boys, 47 girls, 26 teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and another adult in the southern city of Minab on February 28. The United States has repeatedly avoided assuming responsibility for the tragedy.

Cooper was responding to questioning by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, who said “in the past, when we’ve had these types of mistakes, they have been quickly acknowledged, even if a further investigation is necessary”.

Cooper promised to share the results of the investigation when it was complete. Smith responded by saying, “So that’s a ‘no.’ We will not take responsibility for something we very obviously did.”