A preliminary U.S. military investigation has reportedly determined that Washington was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school in February that killed scores of children.
US Military Responsible for Iranian School Strike
The investigation, according to the New York Times quoting unnamed U.S. officials and others familiar with the initial findings, concluded that the February 28 strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was the result of a targeting mistake by U.S. military planners.
Iranian officials have reported at least 175 deaths from the attack, the majority of them children, making it one of the most shocking American strikes resulting in civilian fatalities in recent memory.
The findings appear to confirm assertions by Tehran, which produced video footage of the U.S. missile strike and fragments of U.S.-made missile parts, despite former President Donald Trump’s claims that Iran was responsible for the bombing.
The inquiry, which is ongoing, found that officers at U.S. Central Command created the target coordinates for the strike using obsolete data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Independent analysis had strongly indicated U.S. culpability, but the Trump administration continued to evade responsibility for the attack, which hit the school in the town of Minab near buildings used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) naval forces.
On Saturday, Trump declared that Iran was responsible for the school bombing. “In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran … They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.” The president presented no evidence for his claim.
U.S. military spokespeople have not repeated Trump’s assertion, stating only that they are “investigating” the bombing.
The Pentagon issued a five-word statement to the Guardian on Wednesday: “The incident is under investigation.” A U.S. military Central Command official said it would be “inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation.”
Satellite imagery shows that while the school building was once part of the wider IRGC complex, it has been walled off from the barracks for at least nine years. The building has visual indications that it is an educational facility, including colorful murals and small sports playing fields.
There is no indication that the school was used for military purposes at the time of the strike. However, its location provides a plausible reason why the U.S. or Israel may have selected targets in that area.
Videos of the bombed school, verified by the Guardian, were shared on Iranian social media after the explosion. At least four videos show the same site from different angles, with shared motifs such as the school’s colorful murals.
One video shows rubble from the destroyed school and smoke rising over the fence from the direction of the IRGC base, indicating the bomb was part of a series of strikes targeting the IRGC complex.
On March 8, Iranian state media released a video of a missile hitting a location in Minab. The investigative collective Bellingcat geolocated the video, determining the missile struck the IRGC compound next to the school.
Munitions experts have identified the missile in the video as a Tomahawk missile. “Given the belligerents, that indicates it is a U.S. strike, as Israel is not known to possess Tomahawk missiles,” said NR Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services. The U.S. is the only country involved in the conflict to possess this weapon.
He added, “Despite various claims circulating online, the munition in question is clearly not an Iranian Soumar missile: the Soumar has a distinctive external engine located towards the rear, on the underside of the munition.”
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