On February 28, 2026, the first day of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, the Shajar-e Tayebeh school in the southeastern city of Minab was hit near a facility of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The incident quickly became one of the deadliest and most contested episodes of the current war. Iran said more than 150 people were killed, but the exact death toll has still not been independently verified.
According to The New York Times and Reuters, a preliminary investigation suggests the strike may have resulted from an American targeting error caused by outdated intelligence used to identify a target near the IRGC base. US officials stressed that these conclusions remain preliminary. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an investigation had begun and said the US military does not target civilian sites.
Footage of the strike published by Mehr News and geolocated by Bellingcat was reviewed by several experts, who said it likely showed a Tomahawk cruise missile. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs, along with analysis by Associated Press and the BBC, showed extensive destruction at the school and nearby buildings.
Human Rights Watch concluded that the school stood next to an IRGC naval compound but was separated by a wall, had its own street entrance, and appeared to function as an independent civilian site. The organization said it found no evidence that the building was being used for military purposes. Its analysis indicated that the strike was likely carried out with precision-guided munitions, with at least eight impact points identified across the compound.
“The mere presence of military personnel in civilian infrastructure does not automatically make such facilities lawful military targets,” Human Rights Watch said.
Casualty estimates differ. Iran’s envoy in Geneva spoke of 150 schoolgirls killed, while a representative of the Iranian Teachers Association said about 175 people died, including at least 108 children. HRW cited Iranian state reports saying the toll had reached 168 dead by March 4, but emphasized that it could not independently verify that figure. Based on reviewed lists of names and birth dates, a large share of the victims appear to have been children.
There was also uncertainty over the school’s status: some media outlets described it as a girls’ school, yet published victim lists included male names. As the outlet Provereno.Media noted, local sources also referred to it as a mixed primary school, which, while not the formal norm in Iran, does exist in practice.