U.S. Airstrikes on Iranian School Under Investigation

Over 100 days have passed since U.S. airstrikes destroyed Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran. President Trump stated during the Group of 7 summit in France that the incident remains under investigation. He minimized concerns about responsibility, saying, “Mistakes are made. War is nasty.” This is one of the closest acknowledgments from the U.S. regarding the strikes.

The airstrikes resulted in at least 175 deaths, mostly children, according to Iranian officials. Although President Trump noted that the act was not intentional, U.S. military officials have privately admitted the strikes were an intelligence failure. The school was near a military base used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy. It was originally part of the base itself.

The internal investigation revealed that those responsible for selecting targets relied on outdated imagery, which did not reflect the current presence of a school next to the base. While at least two individuals knew of the building’s conversion into a school, this information was not relayed to those responsible for target selection, leading military officials to designate it as a legitimate target.

The first strike killed dozens of students, and a subsequent “double tap” strike caused further casualties. Imagery reviewed by The New York Times indicated that the attacks hit multiple Revolutionary Guards buildings and the school. This incident marks the deadliest civilian casualty event caused by the U.S. military since 1991, when a stealth aircraft bombed a Baghdad air-raid shelter, killing over 400 civilians.

The Pentagon continues investigating the airstrikes, with further reports pending.