The attack drew condemnation from the United Nations and international human rights organizations, with a senior Atlantic Council attorney saying a confirmed U.S. strike on the school would constitute a clear violation of international laws governing armed conflict. The U.S. military has opened a formal assessment of the incident, a process Pentagon guidelines reserve for cases in which investigators determine U.S. forces could bear responsibility.

Satellite imagery, expert analysis and a statement from a U.S. official point to a United States airstrike as the cause of a Feb. 28 explosion that killed more than 165 people, most of them girls, at a primary school in southern Iran, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

The explosion at Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab — a city in Hormozgan province roughly 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Tehran — produced the highest civilian death toll of the ongoing U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, according to Iranian state media. Neither the United States nor Israel has claimed responsibility. Iran has blamed both countries.

Evidence Pointing to a U.S. Strike

A U.S. official told the AP that the strike very likely originated from the United States, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The U.S. military has opened a formal assessment of the incident — a process that, per Pentagon guidelines on civilian harm mitigation, begins only after investigators make an initial determination that U.S. forces could bear responsibility.

The school sits adjacent to a walled compound listed in Iranian mapping applications as the Seyyed Al-Shohada Cultural Complex of the Revolutionary Guard, which includes a pharmacy, gymnasium and sports field. Housing for the IRGC’s Assef Coastal Missile Brigades — part of the Revolutionary Guard’s navy and responsible for the Strait of Hormuz — is located approximately 150 meters (165 yards) from the school within the compound.

The U.S. military has concentrated its Iran strikes on naval targets and has acknowledged operations in Hormozgan province, including one near the school. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group operates in the Arabian Sea, placing Minab within range of U.S. naval aircraft.

Israel, which denied involvement, has focused its operations on areas of Iran closer to its own territory and has not reported strikes south of Isfahan, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the north of Minab.

What the Damage Shows

Satellite images reviewed by the AP show the school largely reduced to rubble, with a crescent-shaped opening in its roof. Three independent weapons and imagery experts told the AP that the images and video from the site strongly indicate multiple munitions struck the compound.

Corey Scher, a researcher who uses satellite imagery and radar data to study changes in conflict zones, said all of the strikes were clustered inside the walled compound, with most producing direct impacts on buildings. He said that level of accuracy — consistent across multiple simultaneous impacts — indicates block-level precision, and that the damage pattern is consistent with air-to-ground munitions that detonated on contact with buildings or ground rather than above them.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, said the evidence indicates multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous attacks struck the school and compound. He noted video taken shortly after the attack showed smoke rising from the Revolutionary Guard complex, and that witness accounts cited in Iranian media described multiple explosions.

Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army explosive ordnance disposal officer, said the visible damage is consistent with what multiple 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) high-explosive warheads would produce, and that the precision of simultaneous strikes across multiple buildings would undercut any suggestion that a faulty Iranian missile accidentally struck the school.

If a U.S. or Israeli strike is confirmed to have hit the school, Jenzen-Jones said, several possible failures in the targeting cycle could explain the outcome — including an intelligence failure, a misidentified target or a target list that was not updated after the building’s use changed.

Farzin Nadimi, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who studies the Iranian military, said it was probable the school educated daughters of Revolutionary Guard personnel. He suggested a possible explanation was that U.S. forces had tracked recent activity at the compound but did not have current information indicating a girls’ school was present.

Elise Baker, a senior attorney at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based nonprofit research organization, said that if the confirmed facts hold, the attack on the school would constitute a clear violation of the laws of armed conflict. Baker said strikes can only lawfully be directed at military objectives and combatants. The school’s proximity to Revolutionary Guard facilities and the attendance of members’ children there did not alter its status as a civilian object protected under international law, she said.

Official Responses

At a Pentagon press briefing Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said only that the military is investigating when asked directly about the school explosion. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told the AP it would be inappropriate to comment while the incident was under investigation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday she had no updates on the investigation and did not answer directly when asked whether President Trump was satisfied with the pace of the inquiry.

International Condemnation

The attack drew condemnation from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and international human rights organizations. There have also been reports of additional strikes on schools elsewhere in Iran.