A short video circulating online is fueling rising questions about a deadly explosion on Feb. 28 at an Iranian naval facility located near a primary school in the southern city of Minab.
The clip, about seven seconds long, shows a cruise missile entering the frame just before a large explosion and a thick plume of smoke. Weapons analysts who reviewed the footage say the missile’s shape, wings, and flight pattern closely resemble a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile.
Strike near naval base and school
The explosion appears to have hit a building within a naval facility run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The site is directly adjacent to Shajarah Tayyiba Primary School.
Local reports state that between 168 and 180 people were killed. Most of them were schoolchildren.
Open-source investigators analyzing satellite imagery had already identified precision airstrikes in southern Iran around the time of the explosion. The new video offers additional evidence supporting the claim that the strike destroyed the nearby school.
Investigators say the missile shown in the footage looks like a Tomahawk, a long-range cruise missile used only by the U.S. Navy and U.S. military forces.
Questions about responsibility
The incident attracted widespread attention after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. military investigators suspect American forces were probably responsible for destroying the nearby school during operations against Iranian targets.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham also called for more transparency about the incident.
President Donald Trump later said the school strike was carried out by Iran, not the United States.
The Pentagon states it is reviewing the situation. Defense officials emphasize U.S. forces do not intentionally target civilians.
Still, analysts note that the type of missile seen in the video could narrow the possibilities.
Tomahawk cruise missiles are used by the United States but not by Iran or Israel, according to weapons experts who have reviewed the footage.
A recurring risk in modern warfare
Military analysts say the tragedy also highlights a long-standing problem in modern conflicts: military facilities located near civilian areas.
In Minab, the school sits directly next to the IRGC naval compound. Some reports suggest the school may have been built on land previously connected to the military site.
When military targets are located next to homes, hospitals, or schools, the risk of civilian casualties increases sharply.
Under international humanitarian law, military forces must weigh whether the expected military benefit of a strike outweighs the risk to nearby civilians.
What remains unclear
The video appears to show a Tomahawk missile striking a building inside the Iranian naval complex. Investigators believe the strike occurred during U.S. operations against military targets in southern Iran.
What remains unresolved is exactly how the nearby school was destroyed and who ultimately bears responsibility for the deaths of more than 160 people.
The Pentagon says its review of the incident is ongoing. Until that process is complete, the full chain of events behind the Minab explosion remains uncertain.
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