The New York Times has confirmed that a missile striking an elementary school in Iran’s Minab last month was a US Tomahawk cruise missile – adding to mounting evidence that civilians have been targeted in the ongoing US–Israeli assault on Iran.
The strike killed at least 170 people, most of them children. Other investigations suggest it is not an isolated case. A probe by CNN found that several strikes have landed dangerously close to civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. Separately, BBC Verify has documented damage to a hospital, sporting centres, a UNESCO world heritage site and two schools, including the one in Minab.
This comes amid intensifying strikes across Iran that are increasingly affecting civilian life. More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since hostilities began on February 28, according to Iran’s envoy to the United Nations.
In the latest, four oil depots and a petroleum logistics site in and around Tehran were hit, according to local authorities. Six people were killed and videos shared by citizen journalists showed towering flames lighting up the capital’s skyline. By Sunday morning, as rain fell across the city of 10 million people, authorities warned residents about possible toxic acid rain. Many reported waking up with burning eyes and sore throats.
Meanwhile, asked by a reporter from The Times on Saturday if the United States had bombed the school, US President Donald Trump said, “No. In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” He said, “They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was standing beside Trump, said the Pentagon was investigating, “but the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”
A newly surfaced footage of the Minab strike was uploaded by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency and verified by The New York Times. A body of evidence assembled by the paper, including satellite imagery, social media posts and other verified videos, indicated that the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was severely damaged by a precision strike that occurred at the same time as attacks on the nearby naval base operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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