New footage suggests US may be responsible for Iran school attack

New footage appears to show a US missile may have been responsible for the airstrike on an Iranian school on February 28.

It directly contradicts the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Iran was responsible for the hit, which killed at least 165 people at the start of the war.

The new footage, first analysed by the investigative group Bellingcat, was taken the day the Shajareh Tayyiba school was struck but was circulated on Sunday by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

It appears to show a US missile targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base adjacent to the school.

The video shows a munition consistent with an American BGM or UGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) striking a location inside the IRGC base, according to reports by ITV News’ US partner CNN.

Trevor Ball, a Bellingcat researcher, identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile, and the US is the only participant in the war known to possess that particular weapon it is the first evidence of a munition used in the strike

As the camera pans to the right, smoke can be seen from the direction of the school, according to Iranian state media.

It appears to have been filmed from a nearby construction site on February 28, in Minab, southern Iran.

Evidence compiled by CNN and analysed by experts had already suggested that the US was responsible for the incident, but Trump said on Saturday that was not the case.

“Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump told reporters, as he said Iranian munitions were “very inaccurate”.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was more cautious in attributing blame, when he was asked about the strike: “We’re certainly investigating, but the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”

Bellingcat said the footage “appears to contradict” Trump’s claim.

When asked about the strike at a press conference on Monday, Trump claimed that Iran has access to the Tomahawk cruise missile, which is made by American defense contractor Raytheon.

While the company sells the missile to allied countries like Japan and Australia, there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has acquired it.

Trump argued that the cruise missile is “sold and used by other countries” and that Iran “also has some Tomahawks.”

“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else … a Tomahawk is very generic,” he said.

When asked why he was the only person in his administration making the claim, Trump said, “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”

He added that “whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”

Neither the US military’s Central Command nor the Israeli military have so far commented on the new video.

CNN reported on Friday that satellite imagery, geolocated videos, public statements from US officials and the assessment of munitions experts suggested that the Shajare Tayyiba elementary school in Minab was hit on February 28 at around the same time as an attack that American forces likely carried out on a neighbouring IRGC naval base.

The US is the only country participating in the current conflict known to have Tomahawk missiles.

Janina Dill, an expert on international law at Oxford University, wrote on X that even if the strike was a misidentification – and the attacker believed that the school had been a part of the neighbouring IRGC base – it would still be “a very serious violation of international law”.

“Attackers are under an obligation to do everything feasible to verify the status of targeted object,” she said.