The Catholic Defender: U.S. missle strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls elementary school in Minab, Iran elementary school kills over 100 school children and staff

A preliminary U.S. military investigation has indicated that American forces were likely responsible for a missle strike on an Iranian school in Minab on Fwbuary 28, 2026 which resulted in the death of over 160 people.

This is a significant intelligence failure. It is being reported that outdated targeting data was the cause.

Democratic Senators are demanding a biparttisan inquiry and raised concerns about the use of A1 in targeting systems such as the Maven Smart System to determine if this contributed to the mistake. The UN strongly condemned the attack calling for an independent investigation.

Preliminary Pentagon findings suggest outdated intelligence led the U.S. to launch a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, killing over 165 people, many of them children. The revelation has sparked bipartisan demands for answers and raised questions about civilian protections, potentially eroding public support for the war with Iran.

President Trump upon being asked about the fatal attack responded on March 7 that the strike was posibly"done by Iran" he continued on March 9 saying "I just don't have all the details about it" He is currently awaiting for the final investigation report, but reiterating. He was told that the insidence was under investigation.

CBC News also found out that the facility was hit more than one time. A military researcher told the publication “It was precise targeting of a military facility for the IRGC. According to satellite images, the impacts shows a pattern of precision guided munitions … there shouldn't be any mistakes.” As per the researcher, the school being hit was ‘either the fault of a weapons system or a huge mistake CENTCOM made with intelligence gathering.’

Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, told reporters ‘as of now’ he was not aware of any Israeli military operation ‘in the area’ at that time.

It appears that this attack was made by a Tomahawk from the United States.

As per International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the strikes normally have US focusing on the south and Israel on the north. Minab is located in the south close to the Strait of Hormuz, which would place it within the US military's primary range of operations, as per CBC News.

Your commitment to daily prayer for peace is especially timely, as a fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran officially began on April 8, 2026

The agreement, brokered by Pakistan with significant diplomatic pressure from China, was reached just hours before a U.S. deadline that threatened to escalate strikes against Iranian civilian infrastructure.

 A major point of contention has emerged because Israel maintains that the ceasefire does not include operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. On April 8 alone, Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 182 people, leading to threats from Iranian officials that the entire deal could unravel.

Strait of Hormuz: Reopening this critical oil waterway was a primary U.S. condition for the truce. However, reports remain mixed on whether shipping has actually resumed, with Iran's Revolutionary Guard claiming as of Wednesday night that traffic is still halted.

High-level talks are scheduled to begin this Friday, April 10, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to lead the U.S. delegation in an attempt to turn this temporary pause into a more permanent settlement.