U.S. Media Reveals Details of Attack on Iranian School

Reference News Network reported on July 11 According to a report by CNN on July 7, three sources familiar with the decision-making process revealed that senior U.S. military commanders ignored warnings that intelligence on potential Iranian targets in a key database was severely outdated and approved several strike operations. One of the strikes hit an elementary school, resulting in the deaths of nearly 200 children and adults.

The sources stated that multiple alerts were retained in the system used to generate strike targets, indicating that the relevant intelligence was collected years ago and needed to be re-verified, and that any location must be signed off by senior officers to be included on the strike list.

Two sources said the decision by senior commanders to ignore the warnings was made to "accelerate the process," as there was an urgent need to finalize strike targets at the onset of the war. The sources also indicated that this directly led to the mistaken strike on the Iranian school.

Iranian state media reported that the attack resulted in the deaths of at least 168 children and 14 teachers. This attack became one of the most severe civilian casualty incidents in recent U.S. military operations. Days after the attack, the U.S. military launched an investigation.

One source stated that U.S. military officials "knew within days after the attack on the school how the error occurred—clearly due to outdated intelligence."

Months have passed, and the Pentagon has yet to release the results of the investigation into the incident.

Previously undisclosed details reveal why the U.S. military ultimately used outdated intelligence and shed light on how the hasty determination of strike targets before the war led to the tragedy.

According to CNN, preliminary investigations found that the Shajareh Tayebeh Girls' School in Minab was attacked on February 28 while the U.S. military was targeting a nearby Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility.

Satellite images from 2013 show that the school and the adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base were part of the same complex. However, images from 2016 show that a fence had been erected between the school and other parts of the base, and a separate entrance to the school had been built. Images from December 2025 show dozens of children playing in the schoolyard.

The attack occurred on the first day of U.S. military operations against Iran. After President Trump decided to initiate military action, U.S. military officials and intelligence analysts hurriedly updated the location information for thousands of addresses. Sources said that prior to the start of the strikes, analysts had not completed updating all relevant records in the Pentagon database.

As a result, much of the intelligence on targets included in the strike list was over 10 years old, including intelligence on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base near the elementary school.

Two sources stated that both of the U.S. military's target databases—the Modernized Integrated Database (MIDB) and the Machine-Assisted Rapid Storage System (MARS)—clearly indicated that intelligence on Iranian targets needed to be updated before it could be used.

One source told CNN that analysts had previously pointed out changes at the location in another independent digital intelligence tool, but this tool was not linked to the official intelligence database used to generate strike targets. Moreover, this information was never communicated to military commanders.

The source added that the analyst's warning and the gaps in the Pentagon's intelligence database are issues that need to be reviewed in the ongoing investigation.

After the attack, Trump immediately suggested that Iran might be behind it, later stating that the responsibility for the incident might never be clarified. Defense Secretary Esper stated that a "thorough" investigation would be conducted into the attack and added that the U.S. "had done everything possible to avoid civilian casualties."

Multiple sources told CNN that senior Pentagon officials urged the military to quickly provide strike targets before the war broke out.

This demand has persisted throughout the war, placing immense pressure on the U.S. Central Command and intelligence analysts responsible for identifying viable strike targets.

Regarding the military's decision to forcibly ignore warnings about outdated intelligence, one source told CNN, "The Pentagon was pushing everyone to act faster. Many people in the decision-making circle were previously involved in hedge funds (risk-takers), and some were concerned about public opinion and television effects. The higher-ups at Central Command also did not raise objections."

According to sources, another factor that increased the risk of errors was that due to earlier cuts made by Esper to related projects, the civilian harm mitigation and response teams at Central Command and other operational commands had been understaffed. (Translated by Zhu Jie)