Video footage has surfaced that appears to show a US missile striking the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base located next to the school where Iranian state media report that dozens of children were killed.

The newly released clip, published by Mehr News, a semi-official Iranian outlet, is the first to depict missiles hitting the area in Minab in southern Iran on February 28.

Filmed from a nearby construction site, the video captures what experts say resembles an American BGM or UGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) impacting a site within the IRGC base.

As the camera shifts to the right, a massive column of smoke rises from the direction of the Shajareh Tayyiba school, where Iranian state media report that at least 168 children and 14 teachers were killed.

The footage adds to a growing body of evidence that challenges President Donald Trump’s assertion that Iran was responsible for the attack. It aligns with previous reporting and expert assessments indicating that the United States military was likely behind the strike on the school.

“Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump told reporters on Saturday, describing Iranian munitions as “very inaccurate.”

However, members of his administration have taken a more measured tone. When asked whether Trump’s claim was accurate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “We’re certainly investigating, but the only side that targets civilians is Iran.” Prior to Trump’s remarks, the White House had not ruled out the possibility that the US military carried out the strike.

The US Department of Defense did not immediately respond to inquiries on Sunday regarding the potential use of a Tomahawk missile. Earlier, US Central Command stated that it would be inappropriate to comment while the incident remains under investigation.

Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said the munition shown in the footage is consistent with a US Tomahawk missile.

“First, it matches the visual profile of a TLAM,” he explained. “It has a cruciform configuration with centrally mounted wings and a tail assembly at the rear. Second, the video was recorded roughly 250 meters from the likely impact site, indicating the munition must be relatively large. That effectively rules out smaller US munitions with similar shapes, such as the GBU-69B.”

Analysis suggests US was responsible for deadly strike on Iranian elementary school

Additional weapons specialists consulted agreed with this conclusion, noting that Tomahawk missiles are frequently deployed in the initial phase of military operations before air superiority is secured. While it remains unclear which specific structure was hit, analysis suggests the strike impacted a building within or directly adjacent to an IRGC-operated medical clinic on the base.

Experts emphasized that only the US Navy operates Tomahawk missiles, launching them from surface vessels and submarines. Israel does not possess or deploy this weapon system.

An earlier assessment incorporating satellite imagery, geolocated videos, official US statements, and expert munitions analysis concluded that the United States was likely responsible for the strike.

At that stage, investigators had not yet obtained images of weapon fragments from the scene, material that is typically crucial for confirming the origin of a munition.

Efforts are ongoing to secure photographs of debris from the missile that struck the school. Such physical evidence is critical in determining responsibility, and without it, conclusions remain provisional.

Nevertheless, additional indicators point toward US involvement in the strike, which occurred Saturday morning, the first working and school day of the week in Iran.

Videos that have been geolocated show the school being hit at approximately the same time as the nearby base. One recording captures smoke rising simultaneously from both the IRGC compound and the school building.

Satellite images from 2013 indicate that the school and the IRGC base were once part of a single compound. By 2016, however, a fence had been installed to divide the school from the base, and a separate entrance for the school had been constructed. Imagery from December 2025 shows dozens of individuals gathered in the school courtyard, apparently engaged in recreational activities on what appears to be a sports court.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a munitions specialist and director of Armament Research Services (ARES), said the available imagery and video evidence “suggest multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes” affecting both the IRGC facility and the school.

In the immediate aftermath, online speculation suggested the explosion at the school may have been caused by malfunctioning Iranian air defenses attempting to intercept incoming strikes.

Jenzen-Jones dismissed that theory as improbable, pointing to recent imagery showing extensive structural damage at the naval base consistent with precision-guided air-delivered munitions rather than stray air defense missiles.

“What we’re observing are deliberate strikes that appear intended to disable specific buildings. That is the most plausible explanation,” he said.

He also noted that military installations such as the Minab base would typically be included among pre-planned targets in the early stages of a conflict.

US officials have acknowledged striking military objectives in southern Iran. During a briefing on Wednesday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, displayed a map outlining American and Israeli strikes conducted during the first 100 hours of the conflict. According to Caine, Israeli forces largely focused on northern Iran, while US operations were concentrated in the south.