Video footage adds to mounting evidence US was behind Feb 28 strike on Iranian school

Video footage released March 8 seems to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking a naval base in southern Iran — the latest evidence that the U.S. was the actor behind the Feb. 28 destruction of a nearby girls’ elementary school.

Iranian officials say the strike — which hit Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in the town of Minab — killed more than 180 people, including children. President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the strike, as Zeale News previously reported, while multiple outlets have concluded the tragedy was likely due to a U.S. strike.

The video, uploaded by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency, appears to show a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) beside Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in the town of Minab, according to The New York Times. The video then pans toward what several news outlets identified as the school area, where smoke is already rising. 

The Times — which said it verified the video’s authenticity by comparing details in the footage with satellite imagery taken days after the Minab strikes – reported that the U.S. is the only military force involved in the conflict known to use Tomahawk missiles. 

Multiple outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, previously reported that satellite imagery and comments from U.S. military investigators suggested American forces were likely responsible for the strike. According to CNN, satellite imagery from 2013 indicates the school and the IRGC facility were once part of the same base. 

Iranian officials blamed both the U.S. and Israel for the deadly strikes. However, CBS News reported that two sources, one of them an Israeli, told the outlet that Israel was not operating in the area on Feb. 28. 

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One March 7 that he believes Iran carried out the attack because its military is “very inaccurate with their munitions.” 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, standing beside Trump, said the administration was “certainly investigating” the incident when asked whether the President’s assessment was accurate. He added that the “only side that targets civilians is Iran.” 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said March 5 that the Department of War had opened its own investigation into the strike. According to The New York Post, Leavitt said the U.S. does not target civilians, “unlike the rogue Iranian regime,” which she said “uses propaganda quite effectively.”