Satellite images, videos reveal clues

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Disturbing imagery circulated quickly on social media, initially distributed by Iranian state media and republished by news services. USA TODAY is not publishing many of those images because of the graphic nature of the content.

They show destroyed classrooms, bloodied backpacks and colorful school materials strewn across the site. Dust covering every surface. The remains of a playground, including a slide, were scattered amid mounds of concrete rubble. Children’s bodies could be seen partly buried under the debris.

One video shot by a bystander shows a chaotic scene with fires from the apparent airstrike burning on the adjacent property. Moments later they pan to the right to reveal the school filled with smoke.

Iranian authorities said the strike killed up to 175 people, most of them elementary-school-aged girls. It may be the deadliest known mass casualty event involving civilians of the war so far, though USA TODAY could not independently verify many details about the incident including the exact death toll, the identities of those involved and who was responsible for the strike.

The adjacent facilities appeared to be linked to an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp naval base at some point, according to Farzin Nadimi, a Washington, D.C.-based analyst at The Washington Institute who specializes in the security and defense affairs of Iran and the Persian Gulf region.

Nadimi said the Shajareh Tayyebeh school, which translates as “Sacred Tree” in English, was part of a network of 32 schools across southern Iran with ties to the IRGC. The compound also included a medical clinic and a cultural center. Nadimi said that at some point the compound appeared to be used as a support a base for the Assef Brigade, an IRGC naval unit, then partially or completely changed its purpose.

The New York Times and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that a sign seen in bystander video and Google Street view links the compound to Iranian naval medical command. USA TODAY confirmed this using Google Translate.

Historical satellite imagery shows that the school structure may have been part of the compound in 2013 and walls were constructed by 2016.

Establishing exactly what occurred at the school has been hindered by the absence of identifiable weapon debris and the fact that independent journalists have been unable to access the site.

But open source investigators worked quickly to confirm the veracity of the images and videos connected to the strike. And visual investigations by The New York Times and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Al Jazeera have uncovered key details. Satellite images captured by Planet Labs PBC and Vantor confirmed damage to the school, buildings in the neighboring compound and other sites.

Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. military investigators believe it’s “likely” that a girls’ school in southern Iran was hit by United States forces. The reports cited unnamed U.S. sources.

“This investigation is ongoing. There are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for Reuters to claim otherwise,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said of the report. “As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians.” The U.S. Central Command declined to comment.

Minab is more than 600 miles from Tehran and is close to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key commercial shipping route, especially for oil. U.S. officials have suggested in public statements that they were attacking the area on the day the school was struck. In addition to the Minab site linked to the IRGC, satellite imagery shows destruction in neighboring military sites in Bandar Abbas and Konarak.

Iranian school strike leaves 175 dead. Questions remain

Investigators are examining whether the building’s proximity to other nearby facilities may have played a role in the deadly blast.

As more information about the strike emerged, Iranian officials blamed the United States and Israel. U.S defense officials said they were investigating the incident. Israel has said it was not aware of an attack in that area and is also investigating what happened.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated that the United States carried out strikes in the vicinity during a March 4 news briefing. Caine, shining a laser pointer on a map that showed impacts in the region, described U.S. forces focused on southern Iran and Israel on the north of the country.

“Along the southern axis, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln strike group has continued to provide pressure from the sea along the southeastern side of the coast and has been attriting naval capability all along the strait and up into the Arabian Gulf,” said Caine. Satellite images from Planet Labs show damage to other IRGC naval bases in the region.

An analysis from the International Institute for Strategic Studies also described U.S. efforts as focused on south and central Iran and Israel’s on the north.

On March 3, hundreds of mourners packed the streets during the funeral for those killed in the attack. It was broadcast on Iranian state TV. Drone video showed rows of fresh graves being dug in a nearby cemetery.

The video footage from the funerals showed coffins covered in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s flag as they were carried through throngs of people. Some voiceovers of the footage, translated into English, described the sorrows of parents mourning their daughters.

Iranian state media has reported the names of 57 victims, though it did not specify their ages or connections to the school: