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Iran school strike analysis urges civilian protection, diplomacy
A Foreign Policy in Focus essay published on Informed Comment examines the U.S. strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, where reports put the death toll at between about 120 and 168, most of them children. It cites a UN fact-finding mission's finding of reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces committed war crimes in two February strikes, while also noting the same mission found Iran's crackdown on protesters amounted to crimes against humanity. The piece urges accountability, civilian protection and diplomacy, arguing that asking who is next matters more than assigning blame.
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According to the essay, the Shajareh Tayyebeh school stood next to a Revolutionary Guard compound and had been visibly separated from it since 2016. It cites the Congressional Research Service as saying a Tomahawk missile hit the school and that a preliminary U.S. military investigation found the United States responsible while working from outdated targeting information. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would not deliberately target a school, and the Pentagon had not published its findings months later, according to AP.
The UN fact-finding mission on Iran also found that the government's crackdown on protesters since late December amounted to crimes against humanity, citing Iran's official toll of 3,038 dead while saying it believes the real number is higher. The essay notes that a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April showed diplomacy could still work, and it quotes political scientist Robert Pape saying a deal resembling the 2015 nuclear agreement remains possible with low enrichment, sanctions relief and inspections.
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