The bombing of a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on February 28 has become one of the most tragic symbols of the civilian toll in the ongoing US–Israeli military campaign in Iran, which has now entered its tenth day. The missile strike reportedly killed 175 people, most of them young students, on the very first day of the conflict, drawing widespread international concern over the humanitarian consequences of the fighting.
Footage aired on Iranian state television on March 3 showed funeral processions for the victims. Small coffins draped in Iranian flags were carried through large crowds before burial, images that intensified global outrage and renewed demands for an independent international investigation into the incident.
The administration of US President Donald Trump denied targeting the school and instead blamed Iran for the strike, saying the matter was still under review. When questioned by The New York Times on March 7, Trump said that, based on what he had seen, Iran was responsible and described Iranian munitions as inaccurate. On the same day, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Iran was the only party in the conflict that deliberately targeted civilians.
However, an interim assessment reported by Reuters cited two US officials who said American forces might have been responsible for the strike. The officials noted that the investigation was still ongoing and that no final conclusion had yet been reached.
Subsequently, new video footage emerged that has raised further questions. The clip, released by Iran’s Mehr news agency, was independently analysed by investigators from Bellingcat and The New York Times. Their assessment suggested the strike may have involved a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile, indicating possible American involvement.
The United States is the only country participating in the conflict known to operate Tomahawk missiles. If confirmed, the presence of such a weapon in the strike would contradict earlier statements attributing responsibility to Iran.
According to the analysis, the missile appeared to hit a structure identified as a medical clinic within a naval facility of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The footage also showed smoke rising from the area near the girls’ school even before the missile impacted the nearby base. Timeline reconstruction suggested the school and the military facility were struck at roughly the same time.
Military activity records show that the US Navy has launched numerous Tomahawk missiles since February 28, when coordinated Israeli–US strikes began. A video released by US Central Command also showed Tomahawk launches on the same day the school was hit.
According to technical descriptions from the US Department of War, Tomahawk missiles are long-range, precision-guided weapons capable of travelling approximately 1,000 miles. Each missile is around 20 feet long with an 8.5-foot wingspan and can carry a warhead equivalent to roughly 300 pounds of TNT.
Under international humanitarian law, deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure such as schools or hospitals may constitute war crimes. If responsibility for the strike is confirmed, the incident could rank among the most severe cases of civilian casualties linked to US military operations in the Middle East in recent decades.
