Exactly which country's missile struck an Iranian elementary school?
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Exactly which country's missile struck an Iranian elementary school?

09 March, 2026.Iran.1 sources

Key Takeaways

  • Newly released video suggests a U.S. Tomahawk struck an Iranian elementary school on Feb. 28
  • Semi-official Mehr news agency uploaded the video, which The New York Times verified
  • Reports say 175 people, many children, were killed at the school

Minab school strike report

A newly released video uploaded by the semi-official Mehr news agency and verified by The New York Times shows that on Feb. 28 a Tomahawk cruise missile struck a naval base next to Shajara Tayebe Elementary School in the city of Minab.

MALACHY BROWNE, JOHN ISMAY — March 9, 2026 A newly released video provides further evidence that a U

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Reports say 175 people were killed at the school, many of them children.

Image from 纽约时报中文网
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The New York Times says evidence — including satellite imagery, social-media posts and other verified videos — indicates the schoolhouse was heavily damaged in a precision strike that occurred at the same time as the attack on the naval base, which is operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Tomahawk video and strikes

The New York Times identified the weapon in the new video as a Tomahawk cruise missile and noted that neither the Israeli military nor the Iranian military possesses that weapon, while the U.S. military was the only force among those involved using Tomahawk missiles.

The paper reports that since the Feb. 28 attacks by U.S. and Israeli forces on Iran, U.S. Navy ships have launched dozens of Tomahawks, and U.S. Central Command said a video it released of multiple Tomahawks being launched was also filmed on Feb. 28.

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Satellite-image analysis in the article shows several other buildings inside the naval base were struck with precision.

Officials' conflicting strike statements

When asked by a New York Times reporter whether the United States had bombed the school, President Trump said, "No. In my view and what I saw, this was Iran."

He added, "Their munitions are very inaccurate, you know."

Standing next to him, Defense Secretary Pete Haigeses said the Pentagon was investigating, "but the only ones who would target civilians are Iran."

Gen. Dan Kane, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing that U.S. forces were carrying out strike missions in southern Iran when the naval base and the school were hit.

He displayed a map showing that areas, including Minab near the Strait of Hormuz, were listed as strike targets during the first 100 hours of operations, though the map did not explicitly mark the city.

New York Times analysis

The New York Times analysis cites corroborating details, saying the video was filmed from a construction site opposite the base and matches features in recent satellite images and other verified footage.

A Times timeline supports that the school and the base were attacked almost simultaneously.

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The paper cautions that definitive judgment is difficult because there were no obvious weapon fragments at the site and outside reporters cannot enter the area, which limits on-the-ground verification of exactly what happened.

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