The disturbing images quickly spread on social media, first distributed by Iranian state media and republished by news agencies. USA TODAY is not publishing many of these images due to the graphic nature of the content.
It showed destroyed classrooms, bloody backpacks and colorful school supplies strewn across the grounds. Dust covering every surface. Remains of the playground, including a slide, were scattered among piles of concrete rubble. Some of the children’s bodies were found buried under the rubble.
A video taken by a bystander showed a chaotic scene where fires, believed to have been caused by an airstrike, were burning in an adjoining property. After a while, pan to the right and you’ll see a school filled with smoke.
Iranian authorities said that up to 175 people were killed in the airstrike, most of them elementary school girls. This may be the worst known mass casualty incident involving civilians of the war, but USA TODAY was unable to independently verify many details about the incident, including the exact death toll, the identities of those involved, and who was responsible for the attack.
Farzin Nadhimi, an analyst at the Washington Institute who specializes in security and defense issues in Iran and the Persian Gulf region, said the adjacent facility appears to have been associated at some point with an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base.
Nadimi said the Shajareh Tayebeh school, which translates into “sacred tree” in English, is part of a network of 32 schools across southern Iran with ties to the Revolutionary Guards. A clinic and cultural center were also located on the premises. Nadimi said the compound appears to have been used at one point as a support base for the Assef Brigade, a naval unit of the Revolutionary Guards, but has since partially or completely changed its purpose.
The New York Times and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that bystander video and signs on Google Street View link the facility to Iran’s Naval Medical Command. USA TODAY confirmed this using Google Translate.
Historical satellite imagery shows that the school building may have been part of the site in 2013, and the walls were constructed by 2016.
Determining exactly what happened at the school is hampered by the absence of identifiable weapon fragments and the fact that independent journalists have no access to the scene.
However, open source researchers worked quickly to confirm the authenticity of images and videos related to the strike. And a visual investigation by The New York Times, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Al Jazeera revealed key details. Satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC and Vantor confirmed damage to the school, buildings on nearby grounds, and other locations.
Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported that US military investigators believe it is “likely” that a girls’ school in southern Iran was attacked by US forces. The report cited anonymous US sources.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said of the report: “This investigation is ongoing. No conclusions have been reached at this time. Reuters’ assertion otherwise is irresponsible and false.” “As we have stated, unlike the terrorist regime in Iran, the United States does not target civilians.” U.S. Central Command declined to comment.
Minab is more than 900 miles from Tehran and close to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key commercial shipping route, especially for oil. U.S. officials suggested in public statements that they were attacking the area on the day the school was attacked. In addition to the Minab site associated with the Revolutionary Guards, satellite images show the destruction of neighboring military sites in Bandar Abbas and Konark.
175 people killed in school strike in Iran. doubts remain
Investigators are looking into whether the building’s proximity to other nearby facilities may have played a role in the deadly explosion.
As more information about the attack emerged, Iranian officials blamed the United States and Israel. U.S. defense officials said they were investigating the incident. Israel said it was not aware of any attacks in the area and was also investigating what happened.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine suggested in a press conference on March 4 that the United States carried out attacks in the neighborhood. Shining a laser pointer on a map showing the regional impact, Kaine explained that U.S. forces are concentrated in Israel in southern Iran and northern Iran.
“Along the southern axis, the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group continues to provide pressure from the sea along the southeast side of the coast, draining naval capabilities along the straits to the Arabian Gulf,” Cain said. Satellite images from Planet Labs show damage to other IRGC naval bases in the region.
An analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies said U.S. efforts are focused on southern and central Iran, while Israel is focused on the north.
On March 3, funerals for those killed in the attack were held, with hundreds of mourners filling the streets. It was broadcast on Iranian state television. Drone video showed rows of new graves being dug at a nearby cemetery.
Video footage from the funeral showed a coffin draped in the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran being carried through the crowd. A portion of the video’s narration, which was translated into English, described the grief of the parents as they mourned their daughter.
Iranian state media reported the names of the 57 victims, but did not reveal their ages or their relationship to the school.
- Hana Deghani
- Fatemeh Sarali
- Reza Habeshian
- aliya bahadri
- Ali Asghar Zayeri
- Zahra Bahrami
- Ahmad Soltani
- Hamed Palash Nezad
- Mahdis Nazari
- Athena Chamani Nezad
- Amir Kasem Zayeri
- Fatemeh Deraj
- Arad Ahmadzadeh
- saman karimzadeh
- Fatemeh Shadadi
- nadia shamiri
- parham ranjibari
- Mahmoud Gholamiani
- Fatemeh Radar
- Amirhossein Rassouli Soleimani
- Zahra Belugi
- Mohammad Khatam Raisi
- Asuna Raishi
- Benjamin Jungu
- Mohammad Sadra Zarei
- Mariam Pazarak
- Liana Mohammadi
- mandana salary
- Sarah Scheiste
- Zoha Pasand
- Asli Zakeri
- Salma Zakeri
- Fatemeh Taherifard
- Zahra Ansari
- Fatemeh Fadavi
- mana zaray
- Atare Zarei
- Alireza Zaray
- Mohammadreza Shahasavari
- Samira Besarde
- Ethan Salemi Near
- Fatemeh Zahra Karimi
- Zeinab Bahrami
- mohammad shah dosti
- Reza Barani
- Athena Ahmadzadeh
- Khadija Darvisi
- Rogai Karimi
- Reza Ranjibar
- marzi basili fur
- Mohammad Mahdi Cheghini Nia
- Muhammad Baharami
- Ali Akbar Kriyani Pak
- Hanane Madika
- Fereshte Sangarzadeh
- muhammad ali kriyani pak
- Partha Mokhtari Nasab
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Contributors: Josh Meyer, Camille Fine, Shawn J. Sullivan
