According to a report on June 17, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee has demanded the Department of Defense submit an unredacted report on civilian casualties, or it will freeze 75% of Defense Secretary Hegseth’s travel budget.
Hegseth, file photo
As reported, the committee has added a clause to the annual National Defense Authorization Act. It stipulates that until the House and Senate Armed Services Committees receive an unredacted civilian casualty report—including all supporting documents on the deadly U.S. airstrike on an Iranian school—75% of Hegseth’s travel budget will be temporarily frozen. The strike reportedly killed over 150 people, most of them children.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also wants the Pentagon to provide unredacted footage of a U.S. attack on vessels in the Caribbean. The committee approved the draft bill in an internal vote on June 16. Bipartisan lawmakers have repeatedly expressed frustration over the Pentagon’s lack of transparency in briefings on major national security incidents.
However, these new clauses are not in the version of the National Defense Authorization Act approved by the House Armed Services Committee. In the coming months, lawmakers from both chambers will negotiate over this major defense policy bill.
According to Iranian officials, on February 28, the first day of a large-scale U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran, the Shahid Tayyebeh elementary school was hit, killing at least 175 people, most of them children. Pentagon officials say they are investigating the incident but have not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the casualties.
It’s unclear when the report will be made public, but the investigation is complete and is awaiting approval from the White House and Hegseth’s office. When asked about the probe in France on June 17, President Trump said, “I suggest you ask Hegseth, because they are investigating it.”
