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Mounting evidence suggests that outdated US intelligence is “likely” to blame for an attack on a school in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them children.
The US and Israel said they attacked military sites, trying to destroy them belongs to Iran the ability to make nuclear weapons and its conventional weapons facilities.
But in the early hours of the almost two-week conflict, an elementary school was hit, and outdated US intelligence was “likely” to blame, Sky’s US partner NBC News said.
The attack was part of an attack that also killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Here’s what we know so far.
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What has happened?
On February 28, the first day of fighting, Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in the southern Iranian city of Minab was hit by a missile.
More than 170 people died, most of them children, according to NBC. Other reports put the death toll at more than 165 people.
It was Saturday morning, the start of the school week in Iran, when the building was full of small children.
The US was “likely” responsible, NBC said, citing an American official and three sources familiar with the findings of a preliminary US military investigation into the incident.
Why was the school hit?
The munitions did not miss the target, but instead hit the school because long-standing intelligence indicated that the school was the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the four sources said.
The school is located next to the IRGC site.
Footage showed graves being prepared for those killed in the attack on the school. Source: Mehr News
US Central Command (CENTCOM) based their targeting on data provided by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, and Israel was involved in target selection.
It was unclear where the damage occurred that might have led to a possible US attack on the school, the American official said.
Can this be avoided?
The school, as well as other targets attacked the same day, had characteristics visible from the air that could have been identified as civilian locations before they were attacked, according to satellite analysis by the Associated Press.
Suspicions that the US was responsible grew on Monday, when new footage came to light showing what experts identified as a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile hitting the military compound as smoke was already billowing from the area where the school is located.
There were three visible points of impact of the attack on buildings within the IRCG headquarters, and their impact on the school. Credit: Planet Labs PBC
The missile fragment that Iranian state media said hit the school bore the markings of such weapons, NBC said, citing experts who reviewed the images.
The US is the only country currently involved in the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles.
Publicly available satellite imagery shows the school building was part of a military compound until around 2017, when a new wall was added to separate the two.
A watchtower on the property was also removed. At around the same time, the images show the walls around the building were painted with murals in bright colors, mainly blue and pink, so bright they were visible from space.
The school is clearly labeled as such on online maps and has an easily accessible website containing information about students, teachers, and administrators.
International law governing warfare prohibits attacks on non-military targets.
What does the US say?
US President Donald Trump initially blaming Iran or “another country” for the attack, later saying he was not sure who was behind the attack.
When asked what he would do if investigators found the US responsible, he said: “Whatever the report shows, I am willing to accept that report.”
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran was “the only party targeting civilians”.
Members of the US Congress have demanded answers, including Republican Senator Kevin Cramer, who said that if the US was behind this, the military should “do whatever you can to eliminate these mistakes in the future”.
Some point to the demise of the Pentagon’s Civil Protection Center of Excellence under Hegseth and the failure to update the no-strike list.
What did Iran say?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi called the deadly attack a crime against the Iranian people and would not go unpunished.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the incident a “flagrant crime”.
