NYT Finds U.S.-Made Missile Markings on Fragments Iran Posted After Deadly Minab School Strike

The New York Times reported that mangled missile fragments posted by Iranian state media after the Feb. 28 strikes on a naval base and the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab bear markings consistent with a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile, including serial numbers and manufacturer details.

“Evidence continues to mount that the U”

NBC News

The Times’ analysis said the remnants “appear to be from a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile manufactured in 2014 or later,” and noted that the fragments “contain serial numbers and other details that are consistent with how the Department of Defense and its suppliers categorize and label munitions.”

NBC News

NBC similarly reported that experts who reviewed imagery concluded the fragments “bear the markings of an American Tomahawk missile.”

Both outlets documented the scale of destruction and loss of life at the Minab school site, reporting that the school was largely destroyed and that well over 170 people — many of them children — were killed.

The Times described the debris “displayed on a table near the shell of the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, most of which was destroyed in a precision strike,” and said “at least 175 people, most of them children, were reportedly killed.”

NPR

NBC likewise reported that “more than 170 people, including many children, were killed in the Feb. 28 strikes on the school in Minab, according to Iranian officials.”

Both outlets and open-source material noted important uncertainties about the provenance of the fragments and the direct link to the school strike: The Times explicitly said it was “not clear where or how the fragments were recovered — or whether they pertain specifically to the school strike,”

“War in theMiddle East Advertisement Supported by Visual Investigations Iranian state media posted mangled remnants it claims were from the Feb”

The New York Times

NBC reported that some close-up images “could not be geolocated” even as wider shots aligned with previous video and satellite imagery.

NBC emphasized that it “could not independently confirm where, when or how the missile fragments were found or whether they were connected to the school strike,” underlining remaining questions about chain of custody and attribution.

The New York Times and NBC both pointed to mounting evidence that the school strike occurred amid U.S. strikes on a nearby naval base, including video widely shared by Iranian outlets that analysts and other outlets identified as showing a Tomahawk strike on a medical building at the base.

The Times said “evidence analyzed by The New York Times has been mounting that the school was hit during a series of U.S. strikes targeting an adjacent naval base,” and noted a video uploaded by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency that Times and other outlets identified as a Tomahawk hitting a medical building.

NBC News

NBC added that “evidence continues to mount that the U.S. was responsible for the deadly school strike” as images and videos circulated.

The Pentagon has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in the war, publishing a photo and video online of the USS Spruance firing a Tomahawk land attack missile on Feb. 28.

U.S. officials publicly urged caution while investigations continued: NBC quoted President Donald Trump saying “Because I just don’t know enough about it,”

“Video appears to show U”

NPR

NBC reported Defense Department comments that it was investigating and would not make determinations solely from open-source material, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying open source was “not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”

NPR

The Times noted that the Pentagon categorizes the Tomahawk as a precision-guided munition and that investigations into the incident were ongoing, leaving attribution unresolved pending official findings.