Headline Roundup • March 12th, 2026
US Military Reportedly Believes It Was Responsible For Strike on Iranian School
Summary from the AllSides News Team
An ongoing review by the US military has determined that the US was responsible for the deaths of at least 175 people at an elementary school in Iran, according to multiple reports.
The Details: The New York Times (Lean Left bias) reported on Wednesday that the misstrike happened because those involved were using outdated intelligence. Reuters (Center) reported on Thursday morning that the investigation found the US was likely responsible for the strike. The Washington Post (Lean Left) on Thursday reported that Israel said it was not involved in the strike and that the targeting was not "cross-checked" or discussed with Israeli forces. All outlets used anonymous sourcing.
For Context: The strike happened on February 28 and was reported by Iranian state media. Mainstream American outlets were slow to cover the reports, and once they did, most treated the claims with caution. Previously, a report from Human Rights Watch (Center) suggested the US was likely responsible for the bombing. President Trump previously said the strike was "done by Iran" and doubled down on the narrative after reports had emerged that it was a Tomahawk missile that hit the school. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously noted an investigation is underway, but said Iran is "the only side that targets civilians."
How The Media Covered It: Most outlets credited other outlets for pieces of reporting. As of Thursday afternoon, the only outlet from the right AllSides found to cover the new developments was The Washington Times (Lean Right).
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
An ongoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings.
The Feb. 28 strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was the result of a targeting mistake by the U.S. military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base of which the school building was formerly a part, the preliminary investigation found. Officers at U.S. Central Command created the target coordinates for the strike...
A strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children may be the result of U.S. use of outdated targeting data, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, providing new details about what would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts.
Reuters first reported on Thursday that an ongoing, internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible for the strike on the girls' school in Minab.
Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP
An ongoing military investigation is pointing toward the U.S. being responsible for a missile strike that hit an Iranian elementary school on the first day of Operation Epic Fury.
According to multiple reports, a Feb. 28 Tomahawk strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeb elementary school building was the result of targeting mistakes by U.S. Central Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
"Officials emphasized that the findings are preliminary and that there are important unanswered questions about why the outdated information had not been double-checked," The New York Times reported.
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