US Missile Struck Iran School Due To 'Targeting Error': Report

The United States is responsible for the strike on the elementary school in Iran's Minab that killed over 175 people, mostly children, according to a report by the New York Times. 

An ongoing military investigation has found that a Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building on February 28 happened because of a targeting mistake by the US military. Moreover, the US is the only country involved in the war that uses Tomahawk missiles.

The target coordinates were created using outdated data by the US Central Command, US officials said. The data was provided by the Defence Intelligence Agency. In addition, the investigation is also being conducted on the work of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which examines satellite imagery of potential targets.

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The officials said that the investigation is still going on about why the information had not been double-checked.

The school is located on the same block as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy, placing it in immediate proximity to a top-tier US military target. Originally, the building was not a school and was part of the military base, but between 2013 and 2016 the school was fenced off.

Mourners dig graves during the funeral for children killed in a reported strike on a primary school in Iran's Hormozgan province in Minab on March 3, 2026
Photo Credit: AFP

Examinations have also been made to rule out whether artificial intelligence, data crunching programmes or technical intelligence were to blame for the error in targeting. However, officials said that the mistake was likely human.

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However, US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran is to be blamed for the strike on the school. "We think it was done by Iran because they're very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever," Trump told reporters on Saturday.

A video uploaded by Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency on Sunday showed the missile striking a building in the compound linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

Mourners cry during the funeral of children killed in a reported strike on a primary school in Iran's Hormozgan province, in Minab on March 3, 2026
Photo Credit: AFP

The strike, which had the highest reported civilian death count since the war began, swiftly came under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights monitors

Targeting schools is a clear violation of international laws governing armed conflict, said Elise Baker, a senior staff lawyer at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank.