Trump Blames Iran as New Tomahawk Video Points to US School Strike
A growing body of reporting now points to the United States, not Iran, as the likely force behind the Feb. 28 strike that hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, during the opening hours of the U.S.-Israeli war. That matters now because President Donald Trump publicly blamed Iran, while U.S. officials are investigating likely American culpability.
The central conflict is no longer just who hit the school. It is whether the administration’s public denial can hold as visual evidence, satellite analysis and internal U.S. assessments move in the opposite direction.
Reuters reported that U.S. military investigators believe it is likely U.S. forces were responsible, citing two U.S. officials. AP separately reported that a U.S. official familiar with internal deliberations also said the strike was likely American. Death figures still vary across outlets, but all major reports describe mass child casualties.
The newest complication is the footage. Bellingcat said the video shows a U.S. Tomahawk missile hitting the adjacent IRGC compound in Minab, and AP said it geolocated the footage near the school while smoke was already rising from the school area. The Guardian reported the school had been visibly separated from the compound for years.
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“The United States would not deliberately target a school,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, according to Reuters.
Why this matters goes beyond one strike. If the school was hit during a U.S. attack on the adjacent military site, the case becomes a test of battlefield verification, civilian harm rules and the credibility of White House claims made in real time. U.N. officials have already called for a prompt, impartial investigation.
What has not been verified is equally important. Current reporting supports likely U.S. responsibility, but not the stronger claim that Trump specifically ordered a strike on the school itself. Reuters confirms Trump was briefed on and approved the broader opening operation against Iran.
The next test will be whether the Pentagon investigation narrows responsibility from “likely” to a formal finding.
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