US was operating in area of Iran elementary school ahead of deadly strike: Sources
Iran's education ministry says 168 people were killed in the attack.
The U.S. military was striking targets in Iran last Saturday in an area where an elementary school was hit and dozens of children were killed, according to two people familiar with the initial findings.
Sources say that while the U.S. investigation into the incident remains ongoing, officials believe it's possible American forces are responsible for the attack because they were conducting strikes in the vicinity of the school while the Israelis were not.
Reuters reported Thursday that military investigators believed it was "likely" that U.S. forces were responsible.
Iran's education ministry says 168 people were killed in the attack, which destroyed a girls' elementary school in Minab.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday referred questions about the strike to the Pentagon.
Leavitt's deputy, Anna Kelly, added: "There are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for anyone to claim otherwise. As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians."
Both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command have declined to provide specifics on the probe, saying an investigation is ongoing.
"All I know -- all I can say is that we're investigating that," Hegseth told reporters at a briefing Thursday when asked about the incident.
"We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we're taking a look and investigating that," he added.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said "it would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation."
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, told ABC News the day after the attack that Israel was not operating in the area of the school when the incident occurred.
"So far, we have found no connection to any IDF activity. No IDF activity in that area at all, but we're looking into it," Shoshani said.
An analysis of satellite imagery by ABC News suggests the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab was near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps compound but had been separated from it more than decade ago.
A comparison of Google Earth images from 2013 and 2016 shows a wall has been built sometime in those three years, effectively separating the school that had been part of a cluster of IRGC buildings.
