Video Suggests U.S. Cruise Missile Struck Iranian Girls' School Compound, Killing About 175

A short video circulating online, which NPR assessed as authentic, prompted reporting that satellite imagery from Planet indicated multiple buildings at a compound in Minab were struck in what appeared to be a precision strike that killed people at a nearby school.

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NPR

NPR reported seven buildings were hit in the complex, which had at one point been an IRGC naval base.

NPR

The site was identified as a relatively minor IRGC facility in the southeastern city of Minab.

NPR found an older 2010 video showing IRGC members flying an Ababil-3 drone from an airfield opposite the compound, but historic imagery showed little activity there afterward.

NPR

The airstrip was removed in 2024, with the runway land later being turned into a housing development according to posts verified by NPR.

Satellite imagery and local reporting trace the physical separation and later reopening of nearby facilities.

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The school was separated from the compound by a wall between 2013 and 2016.

The clinic was walled off between 2023 and 2024 and reportedly opened in 2025 in a ceremony associated with IRGC leadership, with a photo showing IRGC chief Hossein Salami cutting a ribbon.

Reporting includes conflicting claims about how active the base was and why the school and clinic were struck.

NBC News cited local officials saying the base had been abandoned for over a decade, a claim NPR could not independently verify.

NPR

Analysts suggested outdated targeting information could explain strikes on the school and clinic, and the U.S. Defense Secretary said U.S. authorities were continuing to investigate what happened.

NPR flagged concerns about deepfakes and AI in the wider conflict: while AI-generated videos have circulated, they often lack specific location details or contain physical inaccuracies, but the clip at issue appeared authentic.

“Video appears to show U”

NPR

The available NPR reporting does not provide an independent, verifiable casualty figure such as "about 175," so the exact death toll remains unclear based on the NPR reporting alone.

NPR