Pete Hegseth, head of the Pentagon. Photo: Michael Probst / AP / Profimedia
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, announced on Wednesday an investigation following reports of an attack on a girls' school in southern Iran, resulting in more than 160 deaths, the DPA and Agerpres news agencies inform.
“All I can say is that we are investigating this,” Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
“Of course, we never target civilian targets, but we are considering investigating this,” he added.
Hegseth was responding to reports of an attack on a school on Saturday in which Iranian authorities say more than 160 people, mostly children, were killed.
The girls' school is located next to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility, but international media have so far found no evidence of the school's building being used for military purposes.
Iran says 85 dead in an Israeli attack on a girls' school in the south of the country
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“The media just wants to put President Trump in a bad light”
Pete Hegseth did not provide further details about those potentially responsible for the attack in the city of Minab or what type of munitions were used.
The Pentagon chief used the press conference to criticize the media's coverage of the war, DPA reports.
It all goes smoothly and accurately, “but when a few drones get past the defenses or tragic things happen, it makes the headlines. I get it. The media just wants to put the president in a bad light,” Hegseth said.
The United States launched airstrikes against targets in Iran on Saturday, according to the US government, the purpose of the operation was to degrade Iran's military infrastructure.
