U.S. Says Minab School Strike Linked to Targeting Error From Old DIA Data
A U.S. military preliminary assessment suggests the February 28 attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, Iran may have resulted from a target-coordinate error based on old Defense Intelligence Agency data. The strike killed at least 175 people, including many children and teachers, according to Iranian and Western reporting.
The school, Shajara Tayyiba Girls’ Elementary School, sits near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval facility. Investigators note that the building previously bordered IRGC property, but changes over the years—fences, separate entrances, and an expanded yard—apparently altered its perimeter and visibility from nearby military sites.
Fragments recovered from the scene allegedly include components linked to a Tomahawk cruise missile, including an SDL antenna and an actuator part bearing the imprint “Made in USA” and “Globe Motors.” U.S. officials caution that the provenance and handling of debris remain unclear, but analysts say such parts point to a Tomahawk’s guidance and control system.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned the strike as a war crime and highlighted the recovered debris as evidence of U.S. responsibility. Iranian state media and Mehr News published images of missile fragments, and The New York Times quoted officials saying the debris included Tomahawk components. U.S. authorities say the investigation is not complete.
Western reporting attributes part of the miscalculation to the use of old targeting data supplied by the DIA. The Washington Post notes that the U.S. military at the time identified the target as a factory rather than a civilian school, and analysts say the school's changing surroundings may not have been reflected in the targeting data.
Israeli officials have denied involvement in the incident, and some reports say there was no pre-strike coordination with Israel on target setting. A separate round of reporting on the same event has shown competing narratives about who planned and approved the strike, underscoring the fog of war surrounding cross-border attacks.
For U.S. readers, the episode matters beyond Iran because it highlights how reliance on potentially outdated intelligence can escalate risks for civilians and strain alliances. It also raises questions about the accuracy and verification of munitions data, the integrity of the supply chain for missile components, and how intelligence failures influence foreign policy and risk calculations in volatile regions.
The investigation remains in an early, preliminary phase, with officials saying key questions—how the old data was used, why it went unverified, and whether newer imagery or field intelligence was available—have not yet been resolved. President Trump was asked about the reports while traveling from Washington, D.C., and replied, “I don’t know about that,” according to witnesses quoted by reporters.