Initial findings in investigation into elementary school attack in Iran: US responsible

The US-based New York Times newspaper, citing US officials and sources familiar with the initial findings of the investigation into the February 28 attack on the Shajarat al-Tayyibah Girls' Elementary School in the southern Iranian city of Minab, reported that the responsibility for the attack lies with the US.

According to initial findings regarding the attack, for which US President Donald Trump blamed Iran, the incident may have been caused by a targeting error by the US military. The findings indicate that the US military was conducting an attack on an adjacent Iranian base, of which the school building was formerly a part.

According to officials familiar with the investigation, officers at US Central Command (CENTCOM) generated the target coordinates used in the attack using outdated data provided by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Officials conducting the investigation have not yet been able to justify how the outdated data was sent to CENTCOM or how the Defense Intelligence Agency came to possess outdated information.

Officials are also investigating whether artificial intelligence models and data analysis programs played a role in the school being incorrectly targeted. Officials noted that these are still preliminary findings, stating that questions regarding why the outdated information was not re-verified are still awaiting answers.

The school was in the same block as buildings belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy

The Shajarat al-Tayyibah Girls' Elementary School was located in the same block as buildings belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which are primary targets of US attacks. The area where the school is located was initially part of the base in question. Officials familiar with the investigation said that the building was not always used as a school, but that it is unclear exactly when the school began operating in this area.

A visual investigation conducted by The New York Times showed that the building housing the school was separated from the military base by fences between 2013 and 2016. Satellite imagery also showed that surveillance towers previously located near the building had been removed, three separate entrances had been opened to the school, playgrounds had been drawn on the asphalt, including a sports field, and the walls had been painted blue and pink.

It is stated that the determination that the US is responsible for the attack was largely expected, as the US is the only party that possesses the Tomahawk missile used in the attack. Iranian officials had announced that 175 people, most of them children, lost their lives in the attack.

"Based on what I've seen, I think Iran did it"

In its statements regarding the matter, the US administration emphasized that the US military does not target civilians and blamed Iran. US President Trump, in a statement to reporters last Saturday, said, "Based on what I've seen, I think Iran did it. As you know, the precision of Iranian munitions is very low. They have no hit rate. Iran did this."

Trump also incorrectly claimed that Iran might possess Tomahawk missiles, but stated that he would accept the results of the investigation.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said regarding the matter following the publication of the initial findings of the investigation, "As acknowledged in the New York Times report, the investigation is still ongoing."

The attack on a school full of children is expected to be recorded as one of the most severe military errors in US history.