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Newly released video verified by Bellingcat and The New York Times shows a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile striking an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base directly beside the Iranian girls' school where 168 people, most of them children, were reported killed, adding to mounting evidence that contradicts U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Iran was responsible.
The video, uploaded Sunday by Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency, was geolocated by the Netherlands-based investigative outlet Bellingcat and independently verified by The New York Times.
It shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a building described as a medical clinic inside the IRGC base in the town of Minab on Feb. 28.
As the camera pans to the right after impact, large plumes of dust and smoke are already billowing from the area around the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school, suggesting it had been struck shortly before the hit on the naval base.
The Times compared features visible in the footage to new satellite imagery captured days after the strikes. The video was filmed from a construction site opposite the base, with a worn dirt path and piles of debris matching recent satellite imagery.
Bellingcat noted that the United States is the only participant in the war known to possess Tomahawk missiles; Israel does not have them.
Dozens of Tomahawks have been launched by U.S. Navy warships into Iran since Feb. 28. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said a video it released of Tomahawks being launched from Navy ships was filmed that same day.
The U.S. Department of War describes Tomahawks as "long-range, highly accurate" guided missiles that can fly about 1,000 miles. Each is approximately 20 feet long with an eight-and-a-half-foot wingspan and carries a warhead with the explosive power of about 300 pounds of TNT.
A preliminary U.S. assessment suggests the United States is "likely" responsible for the strike but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error, possibly due to the use of dated intelligence that wrongly identified the area as still part of an Iranian military installation, a person briefed on the preliminary intelligence told CBS News.
Israel's military was not operating in the area, multiple sources confirmed. An Israeli government source told CBS News that Israel was not behind the attack.
The Wall Street Journal, citing an American official, reported that U.S. military investigators believe American forces were likely responsible.
The official said there were indications the school building had been used as an IRGC headquarters. The Times found the school was struck at the same time as precision hits on the adjacent base, with a former U.S. Air Force official calling the most likely explanation "target misidentification."
BBC Verify reported multiple impact sites around both the school and IRGC facilities, with analysts saying damage patterns suggested the use of a penetrating munition. Middle East Eye, citing survivors and first responders, reported a possible "double-tap" strike.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News that the "investigation is ongoing" and "there are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for anyone to claim otherwise."
Trump told reporters Saturday: "Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran. They're very inaccurate with their munitions."
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said, "We are still investigating, but the only side that targets civilians is Iran."
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Six Democratic senators issued a joint statement sharply critical of the possible U.S. role.
Senators Brian Schatz, Patty Murray, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed, Mark Warner, and Chris Coons said they were "horrified by the latest reports."
"Independent analysis credibly suggests the strike may have been conducted by U.S. forces, which if true, would make it one of the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of American military action in the Middle East," the senators said.
They cited Hegseth's "openly cavalier approach to the use of force, including his statement that U.S. strikes in Iran wouldn't be bound by 'stupid rules of engagement.'"
The senators demanded the Defense Department's investigation be "thorough, including whether any policy decisions may have contributed to the catastrophe."
UNESCO described the killing of students as a "grave violation" of protections for educational facilities under international humanitarian law. No side has formally claimed responsibility.
The Feb. 28 strike killed more than 168 people, many of them children aged 7 to 12, according to Iranian officials.
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