Top Pentagon officials are planning to delay the release of a report on a strike that hit an Iranian school until after the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new report.
Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that senior Pentagon officials have indicated they will hold off on releasing the report. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly “communicated these plans,” according to the outlet.
The Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, was hit by U.S. Tomahawk missiles in February, leaving much of the building destroyed. The strike reportedly killed more than 150 people, including 120 children.
President Donald Trump said in March that he believed Iran was actually responsible for the strike, though he added that he was willing to “live with the report.”
“In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran…We think it was done by Iran, because they’re very inaccurate with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,” the president told reporters at the time.
Shortly after Trump made those remarks, The New York Times reported that a military investigation underway at the time had found the strike was carried out accidentally by the U.S. military.
According to the Times report, people briefed on the investigation said officers at U.S. Central Command created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data that had been provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The president returned to the subject in July, when he suggested that images of the attack being circulated may have been generated by artificial intelligence.
The comments came in response to a question from Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
“There are images from this site that show fragments that appear to be from U.S. Tomahawk missiles. Is it possible that old intelligence or a mistake during a very active time in the war led to this event?” Yingst asked.
“It is, but it’s also possible that those images that you have are AI-generated,” Trump responded.
At another point, the president cast doubt on whether the full story behind the strike would ever come to light.
“You know, I don’t think anybody’s going to ever be able to say what happened there,” Trump said.
The latest report from Bloomberg indicates that the Pentagon’s findings on the strike will not be made public until the midterm elections have passed.
The February strike remains one of the most devastating incidents tied to the conflict with Iran, with the reported death toll including more than 100 children. The school in Minab was largely destroyed in the attack.
Questions over who was responsible have lingered for months. While the president has pointed the finger at Iran, citing what he described as the country’s inaccurate munitions, The New York Times reported that the ongoing military investigation had pointed to an accidental U.S. strike based on outdated intelligence data.
Now, with the Pentagon reportedly holding the report until after voters head to the polls, the official findings on what happened at the school will have to wait.
