Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's resignation amid mounting questions about how a deadly strike on an all-girls elementary school in Iran unfolded.
The Feb. 28 Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building in Minab killed at least 175 people, most of them children. Preliminary findings from an ongoing military investigation indicate the U.S. was responsible for the strike, which may have been based on outdated information.
What the Left Is Saying
Gillibrand told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on 'The Situation Room' that she had "deep concerns" about how the location was targeted. She said she wants to know what Secretary Hegseth knew about the targeting.
"I don't think we have had the oversight and accountability that we are entitled to," Gillibrand said. "We have yet to have an open hearing on the Iran war in the Armed Services Committee. So, I have a great deal of questions, and I think Secretary Hegseth should resign because of this failure in being more precise."
Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is among a group of 46 mostly Democratic senators pressing the Pentagon for answers on how the analysis was conducted before the strike and whether the school was intentionally targeted.
"There must be a swift investigation into the strikes on this school and any other potential U.S. military actions causing civilian harm, and the findings must be released to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to pursue accountability," they wrote in a letter on Wednesday.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Gillibrand questioned U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich over the targeting process. "Can you guess how we could have gotten this wrong in Iran and targeted a children's school?" she asked.
Grynkewich responded: "Ma'am, I would hesitate to speculate with any incident like this — I would just say there's usually a chain of errors and mistakes that happen similar to an aviation accident or some other transportation accident."
What the Right Is Saying
Some Republicans have defended the military operation, noting it was launched on the first day of the campaign against Iran and involved complex targeting decisions in a wartime environment.
Supporters of Hegseth have pointed out that the investigation is still ongoing and preliminary findings do not constitute final conclusions about what happened.
The Pentagon has declined to comment on the preliminary report, and President Trump told reporters "I don't know enough about it" when asked Wednesday to respond to the findings.
Trump previously claimed Iran was to blame for the deadly incident, a position some Republican lawmakers have echoed in defending the administration's handling of the strike.
Some conservative commentators have noted that Gillibrand previously called for Hegseth's resignation in December after a Pentagon watchdog found he put U.S. troops at risk by discussing pending military strikes in Yemen in a Signal group chat, suggesting her current calls are part of an ongoing political strategy.
What the Numbers Show
At least 175 people were killed in the Feb. 28 strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, most of them children.
46 mostly Democratic senators signed a letter to the Pentagon on Wednesday pressing for answers on how the analysis was conducted before the strike.
Gillibrand sits on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, giving her oversight jurisdiction over military operations and intelligence matters.
The strike occurred on the first day of the military operation in Iran, marking one of the earliest U.S. military actions in the campaign.
This is the second time Gillibrand has called for Hegseth's resignation, with the first instance coming in December 2025 after the Signal group chat controversy.
The Bottom Line
The call for Hegseth's resignation comes as Democrats intensify oversight pressure on the Pentagon's conduct of military operations in Iran. The preliminary findings that the U.S. was responsible for the school strike, potentially based on outdated intelligence, have raised serious questions about targeting procedures.
The ongoing military investigation is expected to examine how the school was identified as a legitimate target and whether proper verification protocols were followed. The Pentagon's refusal to comment on the preliminary findings has left many questions unanswered.
Gillibrand and 46 other senators are demanding transparency and accountability, with the letter calling for the investigation's findings to be released publicly. The Senate Armed Services Committee hearing provided a public forum for these questions, though the investigation's conclusions remain pending.
What to watch: Whether the military investigation produces a full public accounting of what happened in Minab, how Republicans respond to growing Democratic pressure on the strike, and whether Hegseth's position becomes politically untenable ahead of potential further military operations in Iran.