Iranian elementary school missile strike potentially caused by US forces

US investigators believe it is highly probable that US forces destroyed an Iranian elementary school on 28/2 while targeting a nearby naval base.

A girls' elementary school in Minab district, Hormozgan province, southern Iran, was struck by a missile on 28/2, the first day of a US and Israeli campaign against the country. Images released by Iranian media showed the two-story school almost completely destroyed.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated the attack occurred in broad daylight, when the school was full of students. According to Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, 150 students in the school were killed.

Reuters reported on 6/3, citing two anonymous US officials, that military investigators believe US forces are likely responsible for the attack. According to information stored on the school's website, the facility is located next to a naval base operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The aftermath of the attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab district, Hormozgan province, Iran, on 28/2. Video: X/@s_m_marandi

Sources did not specify the evidence leading investigators to this preliminary assessment, the type of weapon used, or who was responsible. US investigators have not reached a final conclusion, and the investigation continues. Sources did not rule out the possibility of new evidence emerging that could absolve the US and point to another party. The duration of the investigation or what evidence US investigators are seeking before completing their assessment remains unclear.

The school is situated near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane. Since saturday marks the beginning of the work week in Iran, students and teachers were in class at the time of the attack.

The US confirmed its forces attacked naval targets near the Strait of Hormuz, where the IRGC base is located.

Location of the school (red) and the IRGC complex with military buildings on 4/3. Photo: Planet Labs

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on 4/3 that the US military is investigating the incident. "Of course, we never target civilians. But we are looking into it and investigating," he said.

Israeli and US forces reportedly divided attacks in Iran geographically and by target type. Israel focused on missile launch sites in western Iran, while the US also attacked such targets and naval objectives, but in the south. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, stated on 1/3 that he had no information about any Israeli military activity "in the area" of the school at that time.

Wes J. Bryant, a national security analyst who served in the US Air Force and was a senior advisor on civilian harm at the Pentagon, noted that all buildings, including the school, were hit almost precisely. He suggested the most logical explanation is that the school was "misidentified," meaning US forces attacked without realizing it was a location with a large civilian presence.

Funeral on 3/3 for the students killed in the school attack in Hormozgan province. Photo: ISNA

Satellite images collected by the New York Times in 2013 showed the school was once within the IRGC naval base compound, but by September 2016, it had been completely separated by a fence. This raises questions about whether the school's destruction was an error or a targeting based on outdated intelligence.

Beth Van Schaack, a former State Department official who now teaches at Stanford University, argued that given US intelligence capabilities, they should have updated information and known there was an active school nearby.

Under international humanitarian law, intentionally attacking schools, hospitals, or any other civilian structures can be considered a war crime. If the US is implicated, this would be the most severe civilian casualty attack in decades of US conflict in the Middle East.