Democrats ask Pentagon about Iran school strike and role of AI

Source: NBC News

March 12, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT / Updated March 12, 2026, 2:51 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — More than 120 Democratic members of Congress are asking the Pentagon for detailed information about how the U.S. military is limiting civilian casualties in Iran and what role artificial intelligence is playing in choosing targets.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that was sent Thursday morning and obtained by NBC News, the members singled out a strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them children. The strike was in Minab, Iran, in the early hours Feb. 28 as the U.S. and Israel were launching their war on Iran.

The U.S. military has said it is still investigating the strike, but preliminary information shows that not only was a U.S. munition likely responsible for the attack, but also that outdated intelligence may have been to blame for selecting the target, NBC News has reported, citing four sources familiar with the preliminary findings.

In their letter, the lawmakers ask Hegseth why the target was selected and whether the Pentagon will investigate it as a possible war crime. They also ask what role AI has played in the selection of targets, as well as in assessing intelligence that has informed target selection, and in making legal determinations during the ongoing military operation. “If artificial intelligence is used, is it subject to human review and at what point? Was artificial intelligence, including the use of Maven Smart System, used to identify the Shajareh Tayyebeh school as a target? If so, did a human verify the accuracy of this target?” they ask in the letter.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/democrats-ask-pentagon-iran-school-strike-role-ai-rcna263083