A US military investigation confirmed that a United States Tomahawk missile struck an elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab on February 28 — the first day of the conflict. Iranian authorities reported that more than 175 people were killed, mostly schoolgirls, with around 100 more wounded.

The strike resulted from a targeting error based on outdated intelligence. The intended target was an adjacent Revolutionary Guard facility that had once occupied the same site, but the base had relocated and the intelligence databases had not been updated. Officials stress that key questions remain open.

President Donald Trump had previously claimed that Iran carried out the attack itself, then said America could not be responsible, citing that "many countries possess Tomahawk cruise missiles." In reality, the only operational users are the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

The case was compared to the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, when outdated CIA maps led to incorrect coordinates, killing three people.