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JERUSALEM (AP) — Newly released footage appears to capture what experts believe is an American Tomahawk missile striking a compound in southern Iran. The impact occurred just meters from a school where a deadly explosion claimed the lives of over 165 individuals at the onset of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
This development adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting U.S. involvement in the February 28 attack. The strike targeted a school neighboring a Revolutionary Guard base in Minab, located in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province. Experts consulted by The Associated Press, utilizing satellite imagery analysis, indicate that the school was likely hit amidst a rapid series of bombings on the compound.
A U.S. official, privy to internal discussions, informed the AP that there is a strong likelihood the attack was carried out by the U.S. The official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The footage, initially reviewed by the investigative group Bellingcat, was recorded the same day as the school was hit. It was later disseminated on Sunday by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency. The video captures a missile striking a structure and releasing a thick cloud of smoke into the air.
The Associated Press has verified the video’s location, confirming it was taken near the school, where smoke was already visible. The satellite images of the compound align with features observed in the footage, such as a flat-roofed building, power lines, and nearby vehicles.
Trevor Ball, a Bellingcat researcher, identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile — which only the U.S. is known to possess in this war. It’s the first evidence of a munition used in the strike.
U.S. Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in this war and even released a photo of the USS Spruance, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group located within range of the school, firing a Tomahawk missile on Feb. 28.
Bellingcat said the footage “appears to contradict” U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the deadly school blast. Neither the U.S. military’s Central Command nor the Israeli military immediately replied to requests for comment Monday from the AP.
When asked by a reporter Saturday whether the U.S. was responsible for the blast, which killed mostly children, Trump responded, without providing evidence: “No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” Trump added that Iran is “very inaccurate” with its munitions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly chimed in to say the U.S. was investigating.
Several other factors point to a U.S. strike.
One is the launching of an assessment of the incident by the U.S. military. According to the Pentagon’s instructions on processes for mitigating civilian harm, an assessment is launched after a group of investigators make an initial determination that the U.S. military may bear culpability.
Another is the location of the school — next to the Revolutionary Guard base and close to barracks for a naval unit. The U.S. military has focused on naval targets and acknowledged strikes in the province, including one in the vicinity of the school. Israel, which has denied conducting the strike, has focused on areas of Iran closer to Israel and hasn’t reported any strikes south of Isfahan, 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.
Complicating any assessment of the incident is the lack of images of bomb fragments from the blast. No independent agency has reached the site during the war to investigate.
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 neighboring 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 wrote.
The Trump administration, however, strikes a different tone on international humanitarian law.
Speaking about the U.S. operation at a press conference March 2, Hegseth said: “America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history.”
“No stupid rules of engagement,” he said. “No politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we don’t waste time or lives.”