A U.S. military investigation has found that American forces likely struck an Iranian elementary school by mistake during airstrikes last month.
The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing anonymous U.S. officials and investigators, that a preliminary U.S. military inquiry concluded the United States was responsible for the school strike on Jan. 28.
Sources familiar with the matter said the attack resulted from a targeting error while U.S. Central Command was striking an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base near the school.
The school building was formerly part of a military base facility. Central Command set attack coordinates based on outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The DIA reportedly passed a "target code" to Central Command that still classified the building as a military target.
Officials emphasized the investigation remains preliminary but said questions persist about how outdated information was used and why verification procedures failed.
The Times analyzed that DIA's focus on Iranian missiles and other priorities such as China and North Korea may have allowed target information inside Iran to become outdated. Normally, outdated DIA intelligence should be updated using National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency imagery and data, but such verification steps are sometimes skipped in urgent situations like the early stages of war.
President Donald Trump, asked about the matter during a visit to Ohio, avoided an immediate response, saying "I don't really know." The Times called the incident "one of the most devastating American military mistakes in recent decades."
