Yasin Gungor
09 March 2026•Update: 09 March 2026
ISTANBUL
New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile striking a facility of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the southern Iranian town of Minab on Feb. 28, the Netherlands-based investigative outlet Bellingcat reported Sunday, adding to a growing body of analysis pointing to US responsibility for a strike on a girls’ school.
Bellingcat geolocated footage released by Iran's Mehr News Agency showing the Tomahawk’s impact and said smoke was already seen rising from the nearby school, where more than 170 people were reportedly killed.
The group noted that the US is the only party in the conflict known to possess such missiles, as Israel does not.
The report appears to contradict a claim Saturday by US President Donald Trump that Iran was responsible.
"It was done by Iran," Trump told reporters. "They are very inaccurate with their munitions.”
A US investigation is ongoing.
Bellingcat's findings align with several earlier analyses.
The Wall Street Journal, citing an American official, reported that US military investigators believe American forces were likely responsible, though no final conclusion had been reached. The official claimed there were indications that the building had been used as an IRGC headquarters.
The New York Times, drawing on satellite imagery and geolocated videos, found the school was struck at the same time as precision hits on an adjacent IRGC naval base, with a former US Air Force official suggesting the most likely explanation was "target misidentification."
BBC Verify reported multiple impact sites and burn marks around both the school and nearby IRGC facilities, with analysts saying the damage pattern suggested the use of a penetrating munition.
The Guardian's reconstruction placed the school directly adjacent to an IRGC compound, separated only by a wall built in recent years.
Middle East Eye, citing survivors and first responders, reported a possible "double-tap" strike — a second explosion hitting the area shortly after the first, striking people who had taken shelter.
CBC News noted the attack coincided with the first wave of US-Israeli strikes across southern Iran.
The Feb. 28 strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school killed more than 170 people, many of them children, according to Iranian officials.
UNESCO described the killing of students as a "grave violation" of protections for educational facilities under international humanitarian law and called for a full investigation. No side has formally claimed responsibility.
