According to the online economy report, citing the election, some members of the US Senate have threatened to block 75% of the travel budget of the Minister of Defense, Pete Hegst; Unless the Pentagon provides answers to Congress about the US attack on a girls’ school in Iran, as well as attacks on suspected drug-trafficking boats in Latin America.
Confrontation in Washington; Why is the Pentagon silent about the “Minab School” crime?
While more than two months have passed since the deadly attack on the “Shajare Tayyaba” school in Minab, the unusual and meaningful silence of the Pentagon (the US Department of Defense) has been widely criticized by the former officials of this country. These critics emphasize that the US government’s refusal to clarify the possibility of its role in this crime is in complete contradiction with the traditional procedures and previous standards of Washington in dealing with similar cases.
inconsistency in behavior; From confession to denial
Although US Secretary of War Pete Hegst implicitly acknowledged the attack by US forces in a congressional hearing and called it “regrettable”, the Pentagon continues to shy away from officially accepting responsibility. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump, in a strange and undocumented claim, blamed Iran for this crime; A claim that even the spokesperson of the White House could not defend in press meetings.
Criticism of experts: an unusual and suspicious procedure
Former Pentagon officials and legal experts with experience in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) have described this silence as “very unusual”.
Rachel E. Van Landingham, the former legal advisor of Centcom, stated, comparing this case with similar cases in Iraq and Afghanistan: “In past governments, at least there was a commitment to the laws of war, but now what is missing is a commitment to answer and prevent the repetition of such tragedies.”
Wes Bryant, the Pentagon’s former adviser on civilian harm reduction, believes that the current administrative process shows that the Pentagon is already aware of its role in the incident and only intends to “cover up” or delay accepting responsibility.
Internal pressures and transparency impasse
The BBC’s review of three similar historical cases shows that the Pentagon has previously released detailed information on civilian casualties within less than a month, but in the Minab case, responses to congressional representatives have been limited to repeating the phrase “under investigation.”
The letters sent by Pete Hegst to the Democratic representatives of the Congress, who wanted clarity about the involvement of the US in this attack, did not have any clear answer and only the appointment of an independent investigation officer was mentioned. Observers believe that the complexity of the case is an excuse to avoid accountability, because the scale of the crime in Minab, contrary to official narratives, is not very ambiguous for the American military system.
