Here’s what happened.
Questions are mounting in Washington after a deadly missile strike during the opening phase of the U.S. military operation against Iran — and one Democratic senator is now calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to step down.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is demanding answers about how the strike unfolded and whether intelligence failures may have played a role in the tragic incident.
The call for Hegseth’s resignation comes as the Pentagon continues investigating the strike, which reportedly occurred on the first day of the military campaign ordered by President Donald Trump against Iranian targets.
Senator Demands Accountability From Pentagon
Speaking Thursday on CNN’s The Situation Room with host Wolf Blitzer, Gillibrand said she has “deep concerns” about how the location was selected for the strike.
Preliminary findings from an ongoing military investigation suggest that the United States may have been responsible for the attack, which reportedly hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh school building in Minab, Iran.
Reports claim the strike killed at least 175 people.
Gillibrand said Congress deserves clear answers about what happened and what information was used in the targeting process.
“I want to know what Secretary Hegseth knew about this targeting,” she said.
The New York senator also criticized what she described as a lack of oversight surrounding the conflict.
“We have not yet held an open hearing on the Iran war in the Armed Services Committee,” she said. “There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Gillibrand added that she believes the defense secretary should resign over what she described as a failure to ensure accurate targeting.
Dozens of Senators Push for Investigation
Gillibrand is part of a group of 46 mostly Democratic senators pressing the Pentagon to provide more information about the strike.
In a letter sent Wednesday, the lawmakers called for a full investigation into the incident, including how the intelligence analysis was conducted before the strike was approved.
The senators said the public deserves transparency if civilian casualties occurred during U.S. military operations.
“There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm,” the senators wrote.
They also urged the Pentagon to release the investigation’s findings publicly and outline any accountability measures if errors were made.
Military Commander Warns Against Speculation
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Gillibrand questioned Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command, about how such a mistake could have happened.
She asked the general whether he could explain how a children’s school might have been mistakenly targeted.
Grynkewich declined to speculate while the investigation is still underway.
Instead, he noted that complex military operations sometimes involve multiple failures occurring at once.
“Usually there’s a chain of errors and mistakes similar to what happens in aviation accidents,” Grynkewich said.
He added that officials should allow investigators to determine exactly what occurred before drawing conclusions.
Pentagon and Trump Respond
So far, the Pentagon has declined to comment on the preliminary report about the strike.
When asked about the incident earlier this week, President Donald Trump told reporters he had not yet reviewed the details of the investigation.
“I don’t know enough about it,” the president said.
Trump had previously suggested that Iranian forces may have been responsible for the deadly incident.
Previous Controversy Involving Hegseth
This is not the first time Gillibrand has called for Hegseth’s resignation.
In December, she made a similar demand after a Pentagon watchdog report concluded that the defense secretary discussed potential military strikes in Yemen within a Signal group chat.
Critics argued that sharing sensitive operational details in a messaging app could have put U.S. troops at risk.
Hegseth has not publicly indicated any plans to step down.
For now, the Pentagon investigation into the Iran strike continues, and officials say more information will be released once the review is complete.