U.S. Military's Tomahawk Strike Hits Iranian Girls' School, Killing At Least 175, Pentagon Review Finds

An internal U.S. military review has preliminarily found that a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28, killing at least 165–175 people — most of them children — during the opening day of U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to multiple outlets citing the ongoing investigation and Iranian reports.

“In short: The United States is responsible for a strike on a primary school in Iran, The New York Times has cited a preliminary military inquiry as finding”

ABC News

The New York Times-based preliminary findings reported by U.S. outlets say American forces conducting strikes on a nearby Iranian base used targeting data that led to the school being hit.

ABC News

Casualty figures reported so far vary by outlet, but several sources cite roughly 165–175 dead, with international agencies noting many victims were girls aged roughly 7–12.

Preliminary investigators say the strike resulted from a targeting error tied to outdated intelligence: U.S. Central Command officers reportedly created target coordinates using Defence Intelligence Agency data that still listed the school as part of an Iranian military compound.

Satellite imagery and open-source checks show the building had once been within the base footprint but later was fenced off, repainted and used as a school — changes visible in imagery taken between roughly 2013–2017 — raising questions about why the data used to nominate the target was not updated or re-verified.

Associated Press News

Multiple lines of open-source evidence increasingly matched the preliminary finding: geolocated video and satellite imagery show a precision strike on the adjacent IRGC facility around the time the school collapsed.

Experts identified wreckage and photos circulated of missile fragments consistent with a Tomahawk, and first responders and analysts reported finding remains of a U.S.-made cruise missile at the scene.

These materials strengthened the assessment that a U.S. Tomahawk — not an Iranian munition — caused the catastrophic damage.

The strike has produced immediate political fallout and demands for accountability.

President Trump initially suggested Iran might have been responsible and defended his remarks as based on "feeling," while White House spokespeople later said the investigation must be allowed to proceed.

Forbes

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers, rights groups and other officials demanded swift, public answers; senators and organizations such as Human Rights Watch called for a full investigation and for those responsible to be held to account.

Beyond immediate politics, the incident has reignited scrutiny of U.S. targeting practices and Pentagon policy changes under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with lawmakers and analysts pointing to cuts in civilian-harm mitigation bodies and a stated emphasis on lethality as factors that may have increased risk to civilians.

“Topline President Donald Trump said he’s unaware of preliminary findings from a U”

Forbes

Critics say the combination of outdated targeting data, weakened civilian-protection structures and an operational tone that de-emphasized restrictive rules of engagement merits not only a transparent accounting of what went wrong but also potential accountability measures.

Independent Journal Review