Evidence is mounting that outdated US intelligence is “likely” behind an attack on a school in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people, many of them children.
The US and Israel say they are attacking military sites, trying to destroy them Iran’s Ability to create nuclear weapons and its conventional weapons facilities.
But Sky’s US partner, NBC News, said that in the early hours of the almost two-week conflict, a primary school was damaged and outdated US intelligence was “probably”.
It was part of the attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This is what we know so far.
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what happened
On February 28, the first day of fighting, Shazareh Tayebeh Primary School in the southern Iranian town of Minab was hit by a missile attack.
According to NBC, more than 170 people were killed, most of them children. Other reports put the death toll at more than 165.
It was an early Saturday morning, the beginning of the Iranian school week, and the building was full of young children.
The US is “possibly” 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 munition did not miss the target, but hit the school because old intelligence showed it was an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) base, four sources said.
The school is adjacent to an IRGC site.
The footage is said to show graves being prepared for those killed in the strike on the school. Source: Mehr News
US Central Command (CENTCOM) bases its targeting on data provided by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, with Israel involved in selecting the targets.
The American official said it was not clear where the breakdown occurred, which could have led to the US attack on the school.
Can it be avoided?
According to satellite analysis by the Associated Press, the school and other targets struck the same day had characteristics visible from the air that could have identified them as civilian sites before they were hit.
Suspicion that the US was responsible increased on Monday after new footage emerged that experts identified as a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile striking the military compound as smoke was already billowing from the area where the school was located.
There were three visible strike impact points on buildings inside the IRCG base and an impact on a school. Credit: Planet Labs PBC
Iranian state media said fragments of the missile that hit the school bore the markings of such a weapon, NBC said, citing experts who reviewed the images.
The US is the only country currently involved in a conflict using Tomahawk missiles.
Publicly available satellite imagery shows the school building was part of the military compound until 2017, when a new wall was added to separate the two.
The watch tower on the property was also removed. At the same time, the walls around the building are painted with murals in vibrant colors, primarily blue and pink, so they are visible from space.
The school is clearly labeled on online maps and has an easily accessible website with information about students, teachers and administrators.
International law governing war prohibits attacks on non-military targets.
What did the US say?
US President Donald Trump It initially blamed Iran or “other countries” for the attack, then said it was unsure who was behind it.
Stressing what he would do if investigators found the US responsible, he said: “Whatever the report shows, I’m prepared to live with 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 it, the military “should do everything you can to eliminate those mistakes that continue.”
Some pointed to the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence under Mr. Hegseth and its failure to update its no-strike list.
What did Iran say?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the deadly attack a crime against the Iranian people that “does not answer.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai called the incident a “blatant crime”.
