Former CIA Chief Says Human Decision Was Behind Minab School Strike

Former CIA director David Petraeus has said that the final decision to launch an attack rests with a human, even when artificial intelligence (AI) is used to identify military targets. Speaking at a world summit hosted by a national media organisation, Petraeus commented on the reported strike on a school in Minab, Iran, which reportedly killed 156 people, including 123 students. He acknowledged that AI tools are increasingly being used in military operations and said errors can occur. Referring to conflicts in West Asia and the Ukraine war, he stressed that the ultimate decision to fire a weapon or launch an attack remains a human responsibility. Earlier reports had suggested that US Central Command relied on an AI-supported targeting system before the school was mistakenly identified as a target.

Iranian diplomat Ayatollah Abdul Majid Hakim criticised the United States for allegedly failing to apologise for the Minab school bombing. He said some victims’ bodies had still not been recovered and that the tragedy continued to cause immense pain to their families. The diplomat also questioned the circumstances surrounding Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has reportedly remained largely out of public view following injuries sustained in US-Israeli strikes in February. Hakim claimed that Khamenei was in good health, continued to work actively and had recently met the president for seven hours. He also said Khamenei had attended his father’s funeral. These statements represent the claims attributed to the speakers; the details of the strike and Khamenei’s condition require independent verification.