Washington, DC – Ahead of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s testimony before Congress next week, National Iranian American Council (NIAC) President Jamal Abdi issued the following statement renewing calls for the release of the Department of Defense’s investigation into the February 28, 2026 bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran and urging lawmakers to press for accountability.
“More than four months after this devastating attack on an elementary school, the American people and the families in Minab are still being denied basic answers about one of the deadliest U.S. attacks on civilians in decades. NIAC reiterates its call for the immediate release of the Pentagon’s investigation into the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab and for full accountability for all officials responsible for this horrific attack. Ahead of Secretary Hegseth’s testimony next week, lawmakers should demand clear answers on why this investigation remains hidden from Congress and the public.”
“As reporting has shown, the U.S. government appears to have had warning signs and internal concerns before the strike, yet the public still has not been given a full accounting of what happened. The Trump administration’s continued refusal to release the investigation is unacceptable. There is no justification for keeping Congress and the public in the dark about the findings of a report that should already be in the hands of lawmakers and, in declassified form, the public.”
“We commend Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and the more than two dozen senators who are demanding that the Department of Defense release the Minab investigation, brief Congress on its findings, and provide a concrete prevention plan so this never happens again. Their letter builds on earlier congressional demands for answers, including the March 11 letter led by Senator Chris Van Hollen and signed by more than 40 senators calling for a swift investigation into the Minab strike and any other U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, with the findings made public and accountability pursued.”
“We also commend Representative Sara Jacobs and the House lawmakers who raised alarm over the broader civilian toll of the war in Iran and the administration’s dismantling of civilian harm prevention safeguards. Their letter, signed by more than 100 House lawmakers, pressed the administration over reported civilian casualties and warned that the very institutions built to prevent this kind of tragedy had been systematically weakened.”
“The need for answers has only grown more urgent. A recent CNN report indicates that senior U.S. commanders bypassed warnings in critical Pentagon databases that intelligence on targets in Iran was outdated, and approved strikes anyway, including the strike that hit the school in Minab. If confirmed, that would show this was not simply a tragic mistake, but a preventable failure compounded by ignored warnings and a breakdown in civilian protection procedures.”
“The political and human fallout has been profound. NIAC’s poll with Zogby Analytics found that Iranian Americans were divided over the war as it unfolded, but the community turned decisively against it after Minab, underscoring how this atrocity crystallized opposition to a reckless and unlawful conflict. The people killed in Minab cannot be buried beneath delay, secrecy, and evasion.”
“Secretary Hegseth must be pressed publicly on when this investigation was completed, why it has not been released, who approved the strike, what intelligence failures occurred, and what accountability and corrective actions will follow. Congress should keep pressing until the investigation is released and the victims and families in Minab receive the truth they deserve. The investigation must be released now.”