“[The attack on the school in Iran] was done by Iran.”

Video and missile-fragment evidence point to a U.S. Tomahawk, a weapon Iran does not possess. Bellingcat verified footage showing a Tomahawk striking the area adjacent to the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, and the United States is the only country involved in the war that has Tomahawks. The New York Times found fragments near the destroyed school bearing a U.S. Defense Department code.

Trump's own Pentagon refused to back him up. Standing beside Trump as he declared on March 7, 2026 that the strike "was done by Iran," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would say only "We're certainly investigating," and U.S. Central Command told PolitiFact it would be "inappropriate to comment" during the open investigation.

Independent analyses by Bellingcat, The New York Times, the Associated Press and CNN, using satellite imagery, verified video, and U.S. statements on military positioning, all concluded the U.S. likely carried out the strike, which AP reported killed at least 165 people during attacks on an adjacent Iranian naval base. When Trump fell back on claiming Iran "also has some Tomahawks," PolitiFact rated that False.

"News researchers and journalists analyzed the attack using open-source information and found evidence that a Tomahawk hit the area around the school. The U.S. is the only country involved in this war that has Tomahawks." — PolitiFact, March 11, 2026