The United States is likely responsible for a strike that reportedly killed scores of people at an elementary school in southern Iran, according to an investigation by The New York Times.
The strike, which occurred on February 28, reportedly hit an elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab and left at least 150 people dead, Iranian officials said.
Neither Israel nor the United States has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place close to locations controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The United States Department of Defense has stated that it is investigating the incident.
According to The New York Times, U.S. military statements indicating that forces were targeting naval positions near the Strait of Hormuz — where an IRGC base is located — suggest American forces were most likely responsible for the strike.
The report said an analysis of social media posts from the time of the incident, along with photos and videos shared by witnesses, indicated that the Shajare Tayyebeh elementary school was struck at the same time as a Revolutionary Guards naval base nearby.
Two unidentified U.S. officials also told Reuters that military investigators “believe it is likely” that American forces carried out the strike.
However, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said it has been unable to access the location to independently verify the death toll or the exact circumstances surrounding the attack.
General Dan Caine, the top U.S. military officer, said on Wednesday that American forces had been conducting strikes across southern Iran at the time.
A map he presented, according to The New York Times, showed that an area including Minab had been targeted within the first 100 hours of the military operation.
Caine also noted that Israel had largely been operating further north within Iran.
Satellite images from 2013 reviewed by The New York Times showed that the school had once been part of an IRGC naval base.
However, the newspaper said publicly available historical satellite imagery shows the structure clearly resembles a school, featuring a sports field and recreational areas that were added over time.
“Given the U.S.’s intelligence capabilities, they should have known that a school was in the vicinity,” said Beth Van Schaack, a former State Department official who now teaches at Stanford University’s Centre for Human Rights and International Justice.
The Norway-based rights group Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said the school was holding morning classes when the strike occurred and reportedly had about 170 students present.
When asked on Wednesday whether the United States was responsible for the strike, Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, responded: “Not that we know of.”