Key Points
A New York Times investigation found that US forces struck the Shajareh Tayebeh girls’ school in Minab, Iran, during airstrikes on a nearby Revolutionary Guards naval base on 28 February 2026.
Iranian officials said the strike killed at least 165 people, many of them children, making it the deadliest known civilian casualty incident since the US–Israel war on Iran began.
US military investigators have privately concluded that American forces likely carried out the strike, while the Pentagon continues a formal investigation.
A visual investigation by The New York Times, published on 5 March 2026, concluded that the United States bombed a girls’ elementary school during air operations in Iran on 28 February 2026, killing at least 165 people.
The strike severely damaged the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in the town of Minab, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in south Iran. Iranian officials reported that the attack killed students and teachers who were inside the building during the school day.
The New York Times examined satellite imagery, verified videos, social media footage and geolocated images to reconstruct the attack. The analysis found that the school building was hit by a precision strike at the same time that US forces attacked an adjacent naval base operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Satellite images showed that multiple buildings inside the IRGC naval compound were struck alongside the school. Four military structures inside the base were completely destroyed, while two others showed impact marks consistent with precision airstrikes.
The newspaper also analysed footage taken immediately after the strike. Videos showed plumes of smoke rising from both the naval base and the school. Other footage showed civilians and rescue workers digging through rubble while families searched for victims. Geolocation experts confirmed that the images corresponded to the school complex and the adjacent IRGC installation.
The strike occurred shortly after 11:30 am on 28 February 2026, when students and teachers were inside the building. Saturday marks the beginning of the working week in Iran. Iranian health officials and state media reported that at least 165 people died in the attack, though independent verification of the final death toll remains difficult due to restrictions on access to the area.
Rows of newly dug graves appeared in aerial footage recorded days later, while funeral images showed small coffins carried through crowds of mourners.
Satellite imagery captured after the attack provided crucial evidence about the scale and pattern of the strikes.
Images from the satellite company Planet Labs showed multiple impact sites around the school and inside the IRGC base. Analysts identified at least five buildings with visible craters and burn marks, indicating several near-simultaneous strikes. One image showed the school building partially collapsed, while a nearby structure inside the naval base lay completely flattened.
Munitions experts reviewing the imagery concluded that the damage pattern matched air-delivered explosive weapons used in precision strikes. NR Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, told Reuters that the available images and videos suggested that explosive munitions struck the school and nearby military structures at roughly the same time.
Satellite analysts also examined older imagery of the site. Historical images showed that the school once formed part of the IRGC naval base compound but had been separated from the base by a wall by 2016. Later imagery revealed typical school features, including recreational areas and a sports field, confirming that the building functioned as an educational facility in recent years.
Experts reviewing the images said the strike pattern suggested that attackers deliberately targeted multiple sites in the area.
Public statements from US officials indicate that American forces conducted air operations in southern Iran at the time of the strike.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that US forces targeted military sites along Iran’s southern coastline during the early phase of the conflict. He said the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group conducted operations against Iranian naval capabilities along the Strait of Hormuz. A map presented during the briefing showed strikes in southern Iran during the first 100 hours of the conflict, including the region where Minab is located.
Israeli officials have said they were not aware of Israeli operations in that area at the time of the strike. Israeli military operations focused mainly on western and northern parts of Iran.
The New York Times analysis therefore concluded that US forces most likely carried out the attack on the Minab site.
Some online claims suggested that an Iranian missile misfire caused the blast at the school. Investigators and analysts rejected that theory after examining the damage pattern. Experts said a single misfired missile would not have produced multiple precise impact points across the naval base and the school. Further, the misfire occurred around 1,300 km away from Minab.
Separate reporting by Reuters indicates that US military investigators have reached a preliminary conclusion that American forces likely struck the school. Two officials familiar with the investigation said military analysts believe US weapons probably caused the blast that killed dozens of children.
“We’re investigating that,” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a press briefing. “We [The Department of War], of course, never target civilian targets.”
The White House has not confirmed responsibility for the attack. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was reviewing the incident and referred questions to the Pentagon.
If investigators ultimately confirm US responsibility, the Minab strike would represent one of the deadliest incidents involving civilian casualties during decades of US military operations in the Middle East. Further, deliberately attacking schools, hospitals, or any civilian structures is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.
See Also: Does International Law Still Matter? The Strike on the Girls’ School in Iran Shows Why we Need it
Reports also indicate that the US military relied on artificial intelligence tools during the planning of the Iran attacks.
According to the Wall Street Journal and Axios, US military command used the AI system Claude, developed by Anthropic, during the early stages of the campaign. Military planners used the system to analyse intelligence, assist in target selection and run battlefield simulations.
The use of the AI model occurred despite a directive issued by US President Donald Trump shortly before the attack ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology. Trump publicly criticised the company and demanded that the Pentagon discontinue its systems. Pete Hegseth later acknowledged that the military would continue using the AI tool for up to six months while transitioning to alternative systems.
Analysts reviewing the evidence say the strike may have resulted from misidentification of the target. Speculations have arisen that the US military’s AI targeting system may be responsible.
Wes J Bryant, a former US Air Force officer who previously advised the Pentagon on civilian harm, reviewed the satellite imagery used in the New York Times investigation. Bryant said the strikes appeared technically precise, describing them as “picture-perfect” hits on several structures. He said the most likely explanation was that US forces mistakenly identified the school as a military site.
Legal experts say military forces must verify the nature of targets before launching strikes to ensure that civilians are not harmed. Janina Dill, an international law expert at Oxford University, told the New York Times that attackers must confirm the status of targets before carrying out an attack. Failure to do so could violate international humanitarian law.
The Minab strike occurred amid broader civilian casualties across Iran as the US–Israel offensive continues.
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths since the start of the war, including more than 190 children. Verified footage and satellite imagery have also shown damage to hospitals, schools, sports facilities and cultural landmarks across the country.
The full scale of civilian casualties remains unclear due to an internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities, which has limited the flow of information from inside the country.
Images of schoolbooks, backpacks and children’s belongings recovered from the rubble circulated widely after the strike, underscoring the human cost of the conflict. For many observers, the destruction of the Minab school has become one of the most powerful symbols of what is being called Trump’s ‘war of choice’ against Iran.
[DS]
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