Senior U.S. military commanders approved a strike on a school in southern Iran despite warnings that the targeting intelligence was outdated, according to multiple reports published this week.
The Feb. 28 strike hit the Tayyiba Tree school in Minab, killing 168 children and 14 teachers. An initial military review found that U.S. forces had intended to hit an adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility. Satellite imagery shows the school and the IRGC base shared a single compound until a fence separated them in 2016, and December 2025 images showed dozens of people in the schoolyard.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cut civilian-harm prevention staff by more than 90 percent. The Pentagon has not publicly released its investigation, and the White House says the inquiry remains ongoing.