A preliminary U.S. military assessment suggests that an American missile may have struck a girls’ school in southern Iran during a February strike, killing scores of civilians, according to U.S. officials and lawmakers.
National Public Radio reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official, that the United States Department of Defense has launched a formal investigation into the incident.
The strike on February 28 destroyed the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in the town of Minab, where Iranian authorities say at least 175 people — most of them children — were killed.
The attack occurred during a wave of U.S. strikes targeting facilities linked to the naval wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator John Kennedy said early indications suggest American forces were responsible for the strike.
“This was a terrible thing that happened,” Kennedy said, according to Associated Press. “And it looks like it’s our missiles.”
Kennedy said he believed the administration of Donald Trump would respond appropriately if U.S. responsibility is confirmed but acknowledged the human toll.
“The kids are still dead,” he said. “And I’m really sorry. But we will learn from it.”
According to The New York Times, investigators believe officers at United States Central Command relied on outdated targeting data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which mistakenly identified the school building as part of a nearby IRGC naval base.
Officials said the building had previously been part of the military compound but was later converted into a school.
Satellite imagery reviewed by investigators shows that between 2013 and 2016 the compound was separated from the base, with watchtowers removed and new entrances and play areas built, confirming its use as a civilian educational facility.
Speaking on condition of anonymity on the sensitive matter, officials said the erroneous target design was passed to Central Command planners, who authorized the strike without detecting the mistake.
Investigators are now examining why the outdated intelligence was not cross-checked with more recent information, including whether analysts at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency failed to update the satellite imagery used in the targeting process.
U.S. officials stressed that the inquiry is ongoing and that several questions remain unresolved, including how the obsolete intelligence entered the targeting system and which officials were responsible for verifying it.
“As The New York Times acknowledges in its own reporting, the investigation is still ongoing,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement, according to the Times.
President Donald Trump, when questioned about the preliminary finding on the incident at a White House interaction with reporters, replied, “I don’t know about that.
The incident could become one of the deadliest targeting errors involving civilians in recent decades if American responsibility is confirmed.
The findings also appear to contradict earlier suggestions by Trump that Iran itself might have been responsible for the strike.
The investigation is expected to take months and will include interviews with military planners, commanders and personnel involved in the operation.
Iftikhar Ali is a veteran Pakistani journalist, former president of UN Correspondents Association, and a recipient of the Pride of Performance civil award
Kiran Asim is a writer who covers the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. Her reports and analyses look at the geostrategic issues and contemporary developments and their economic and political implications. She also writes about society and education.
