US responsible for deadly school attack in Iran, based on initial investigation

A preliminary US military investigation has determined that Washington was responsible for the deadly Tomahawk missile attack on an elementary school in Iran in February, which killed dozens of children.

According to The New York Times, citing US officials and others familiar with the initial findings, the investigation has concluded that the February 28 attack on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was the result of a targeting error by US military planners.

Iranian officials have said at least 175 people were killed in the attack, most of them children, making it one of the deadliest and most shocking US attacks to cause civilian casualties in recent memory.

The findings appear to confirm claims by Iran, which had released footage of the US missile strike and fragments of US-made missile parts, despite President Donald Trump's attempts to suggest that it was Iran that hit the building.

The investigation – which is still ongoing – has revealed that officials at US Central Command created the target coordinates for the attack using outdated data provided by the Intelligence Agency. 

Although independent analyses of the attack had strongly pointed to American responsibility, the Trump administration has continued with a policy of evasion regarding the attack that hit the school in the city of Minab, near buildings used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, specifically its naval forces.

On Saturday, Trump declared that Iran was responsible for the school bombing.

"In my opinion, based on what I've seen, this was done by Iran... They are very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy at all. It was done by Iran," the president said, without presenting any evidence for this claim.

This claim has not been repeated by US military spokespeople, who have only said they are investigating the bombing.

A US military Central Command official said: "It would be inappropriate to comment as the incident is still under investigation."

Old satellite images show that the school building was once part of the wider Guards complex, but had been walled off from the barracks for at least nine years. It also had clear visual signs that it was an educational institution, including colorful murals and small sports fields, which are also visible in some satellite images.

There is no indication that the school was being used for military purposes at the time of the attack. However, its location near the Guard base could explain why the US or Israel may have chosen targets in that area.