A newly surfaced video showing a missile strike near a school in southern Iran has intensified questions about the deadly attack that killed more than 150 schoolgirls during the first wave of airstrikes in the US-Israel-Iran war.
The footage, released by Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency and later verified by international investigators, shows a missile striking a naval base belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Minab on February 28. The Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school was located next to the naval facility, placing students dangerously close to the military target.
The strike occurred on the first day of coordinated air attacks carried out by the United States and Israel across several locations in Iran.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Update: What does the Video of the Minab Strike Show?
The clip shows a missile approaching and hitting a naval installation operated by the IRGC in Minab. Thick smoke rises from the impact area shortly after the explosion.
The school that was later destroyed stood directly beside the naval facility. According to reports, the proximity of the school to the military site meant that the blast and subsequent strikes affected the school building.
New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an IRGC facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footage also shows smoke already rising from the vicinity of the girls’ school, where 175 people were reportedly killed. pic.twitter.com/4jBXrNcRJO
— Trevor Ball (@Easybakeovensz) March 8, 2026
Investigators later confirmed that the missile seen in the footage appears to be a BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), a long-range cruise missile used by the United States military.
US or Israel: Who Attacked the Minab Girls’ School?
The tragedy initially triggered widespread confusion about who was responsible for the attack on the girls’ school.
United States President Donald Trump had earlier claimed that Iran was responsible for the strike on the Minab school. However, analysts reviewing the footage have questioned that claim.
A video released by Mehr News, and geolocated by Bellingcat, shows the missile hitting a building near the school. This image shows a comparison between the Tomahawk missile that hit near the school and Tomahawk missiles flying over Tehran earlier in the conflict. pic.twitter.com/wv0MekFJpR
— Trevor Ball (@Easybakeovensz) March 8, 2026
According to researchers who examined the video, the weapon visible in the footage strongly suggests involvement of US forces rather than Iran.
“The footage appears to contradict President Donald Trump’s claim it was an Iranian missile that hit the school on Feb. 28,” Trevor Ball wrote in one of his X posts.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Update: Why the Tomahawk Missile Detail Is Important
Experts say the identification of the missile used in the strike is a critical detail. “The US is the only participant in the war that is known to have Tomahawk missiles. Israel is not known to have Tomahawk missiles,” he wrote.
Because Tomahawk missiles are operated primarily by the United States Navy and US military forces, their presence in the footage has become a key point in the investigation into the Minab incident.
The missile is designed for precision strikes against strategic targets and is widely used in US military operations.
Bellingcat Investigation into the Minab School Strike
The video released by Mehr News was also examined by the Dutch investigative and fact-checking group Bellingcat. Researchers from the group confirmed that the footage appeared authentic and that the smoke seen in the video was rising from the vicinity of the school building.
In an analysis carried out by Trevor Ball, a red cone was placed over the video to estimate the potential impact area of the missile strike.
The analysis suggested that the missile strike occurred extremely close to the school complex. Local reports indicate that the area may have been struck twice during the attack.
According to these reports, the first missile hit the nearby IRGC naval facility. The second strike reportedly landed near the school while students and staff were sheltering in a prayer hall inside the building.
This second explosion is believed to have caused the majority of the casualties.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Update: War in Iran Enters Tenth Day
The Minab school strike occurred during the opening phase of the war between Iran, the United States, and Israel. On February 28, American and Israeli forces launched large-scale airstrikes on multiple Iranian targets, including military facilities, missile bases, and government sites.
The attacks reportedly killed several high-ranking Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since then, the conflict has rapidly escalated across the region. Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US military bases in Gulf countries, while the United States and Israel continue operations targeting Iranian infrastructure.
As the war enters its tenth day, the deadly strike near the Minab school has become one of the most controversial incidents of the conflict, raising serious questions about military targeting and civilian casualties.
