A Pentagon probe has found that outdated targeting data caused an American Tomahawk missile to destroy an Iranian elementary school in the opening hours of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran despite Trump’s attempts to blame Tehran “or somebody else” for the deadly attack.
Citing U.S. officials familiar with the preliminary findings, the New York Times reported Wednesday that the Feb. 28 hit on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school stemmed from the use of old Defense Intelligence Agency data showing the school building to be part of an adjacent Iranian military base.
The Times said the inaccurate data was provided by the DIA to U.S. Central Command, which created a targeting package for the missile strike that included the school building.
According to Iranian officials, the Tomahawk hit killed more than 175 people, with the vast majority of the dead being children.
Evidence from data analysts reviewing satellite imagery, video footage and social media appears to show the school was hit by a precision strike and may have been hit more than once. Maps from the Department of Defense also appear to show two Iranian air defense targets surrounding the school’s location, which is within what the Pentagon describes as a “U.S./Israeli strikes” zone.
Outside military analysts also have suggested that the Pentagon’s AI-driven targeting — or human error that failed to check whether target maps were up to date — may have played a role in the strikes.
When initially asked about the strike last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. “does not target civilians” and suggested that reports of the death toll were “propaganda” that journalists had “fallen for.”
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has boasted of ensuring that U.S. forces under his command do not abide by “stupid rules of engagement,” acknowledged the existence of an investigation last Wednesday, days after the missile strike.
The all-girls school at the center of the investigation is located in the city of Minab, roughly 600 miles from Tehran and near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to satellite images, it is located adjacent to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base.
Iranian authorities reported initial strikes in the area at roughly 10:45 a.m., with reports emerging from social media at 11:30 a.m. local time Saturday, February 28, which is the beginning of the Iranian workweek, when teachers and students would have been inside the school.
Footage reviewed by BBC Verify showed a man filming the area as he rushes into the school’s courtyard. Four plumes of black smoke can be seen from inside the courtyard. The smoke appears to emerge from the location of nearby strikes, including the IRGC compound.
Satellite imagery taken in the aftermath of the attack appeared to show that multiple precision strikes hit at least six IRGC buildings and the school itself. Four buildings inside a nearby naval base were completely destroyed, and two other buildings showed impact points at the center of their roofs, according to an analysis from The New York Times.
The Pentagon’s preliminary finding that the U.S. is to blame for the strike is unsurprising considering no other country involved in the war fields Tomahawk missiles, but it comes just days after Trump attempted to deflect blame for the attack by suggesting that Iranian forces — which do not possess Tomahawks — had used the cruise missiles to hit the school.
During a press conference on Monday, he claimed he hadn’t seen any evidence that the U.S. was responsible and falsely claimed Iran “has some Tomahawks” even though the cruise missiles are operated exclusively by the U.S. and a few key allies such as the U.K.
“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else … a Tomahawk, is very generic. It’s sold to other countries, but that’s being investigated right now,” he said.
When pressed further on why he’d make such a claim when even Hegseth had refused to go that far, Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”
“I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others. As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly whatever the report, I’m willing to live with that report,” he said.
After news of the Pentagon’s preliminary findings emerged. a statement from U.S. Central Command warned Iranian civilians to stay away from ports used by the Iranian navy.
The CENTCOM statement said the Iranian government was using civilian port facilities to “conduct military operations that threaten international shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.
“This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people. Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law,” the statement said.
Alex Woodward contributed reporting from New York
