US Military Never Conducted Intelligence Review of Iran School Strike: Report

U.S. military leaders have blocked a standard intelligence review into a bombing that killed 168 children at an Iranian school, freezing a critical evaluation of targeting failures.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has stalled the mandatory phase-three battle damage assessment of the strike on the Shajareh Tayyiba school in Minab, according to CNN.

The strike, which also killed 14 adults according to Iranian state media, occurred after commanders relied on outdated intelligence.

Initial reviews conducted within a week of the bombing confirmed U.S. responsibility.

The assessments verified that the strike hit its designated coordinates, a location that was incorrectly identified as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.

However, the Pentagon has yet to authorize the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to conduct the final, comprehensive analysis of satellite imagery and holistic mission impact.

This omission breaks established military precedent for noteworthy strikes.

Expediency Over Accuracy

Senior commanders bypassed explicit warnings in Pentagon targeting databases indicating that intelligence on the Minab site was severely outdated.

This decision was driven by a requirement for rapid target acquisition at the onset of the conflict.

To bypass the DIA review, the Pentagon commissioned an independent investigation led by an unnamed general officer outside CENTCOM.

This probe concluded in April.

Since receiving the findings, CENTCOM has restricted access to the data, invoking classification powers typically reserved for highly sensitive intelligence to shield the details from other military branches.

“There was no detailed analysis conducted, and CENTCOM locked down the investigation/blocked anyone from looking into it,” one source familiar with the matter stated.

Political Pressures and Purges

The suppression of the school strike analysis follows earlier tensions between the DIA and the White House.

Last year, the DIA independently assessed that U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities failed to destroy the regime’s capabilities.

The finding contradicted public claims by U.S. President Donald Trump and angered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, resulting in the dismissal of then-DIA director Gen. Jeffrey Kruse.

“The Pentagon was in damage control,” a source noted, explaining the reluctance of CENTCOM to authorize further independent intelligence reviews.

The White House continues to pressure Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper to present a successful narrative of the Iranian conflict.

This has cultivated extreme compartmentalization of operational data.

Mounting Congressional Scrutiny

The delay has provoked significant backlash from Capitol Hill. A coalition of two dozen Democratic senators issued a letter to Hegseth and Cooper demanding the release of the unclassified findings.

Despite congressional demands, the administration has declined to commit to transparency.

In a recent Fox News interview, Trump dismissed the need to release the findings.

“I don’t think there can be a conclusive report,” Trump said, suggesting without evidence that satellite imagery of American missile fragments at the site could be “AI-generated.”

A Defense Department official maintained that the internal investigation is ongoing, citing the complexity of systemic failures that precipitated the strike.