The US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, dismantled the Pentagon's oversight offices that would have investigated the attack on a girls' school in the city of Minab in southern Iran on February 28, 2026, at the start of the US and Israeli offensive. Last year, Hegseth cut all institutions that, in his view, did not contribute to the goal of 'lethality,' which affected the group responsible for limiting risks to civilians, known as the Center of Excellence for Civilian Protection, according to Politico. The decision, which followed a broader cut in the Administration carried out by US President Donald Trump when he returned to the White House for his second term, has worsened the US ability to protect civilians amid its largest aerial campaign in decades. The 200 employees dedicated to monitoring civilian damage, including those in that office, have been reduced by almost 90%, to fewer than 40, according to two current and former officials and a third source, according to the media. The Pentagon is now investigating its responsibility in what could be the worst massacre of civilians caused by the US since 2003. After days of doubts about the authorship of the bombing, The New York Times reported this Wednesday that the United States was responsible for the attack that killed about 180 people on the first day of the war in Iran, which is now in its 12th day. The newspaper, citing US officials and other people familiar with the investigation, assures that the February 28 attack against the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was due to a target selection error by the US Army, which attacked an Iranian base adjacent to the school. Asked about this information, US President Donald Trump, who has so far accused Iran of the attack on the school, told the press this Wednesday that he 'knows nothing about it'.
