Trump insisted Iran hit the school that killed 175 children, but a newly surfaced missile video tells a very different story

A newly surfaced video appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile striking an Iranian naval base next to an elementary school where 175 people, many of them children, were killed. The footage has drawn renewed scrutiny over the strike and contradicts claims that Iran was responsible.

The incident came to light through reporting by The New York Times, which examined the video along with satellite imagery, social media footage, and other material tied to the February 28 attacks in the town of Minab. Analysts who reviewed the footage said the weapon seen in the video matches a Tomahawk cruise missile.

Experts including former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician Trevor Ball and Chiron Resources director Chris Cobb-Smith both identified the missile as a Tomahawk. The United States military is the only force involved in the conflict known to use that weapon.

The newly surfaced missile video contradicts Trump’s claim

The video, which appeared online Sunday and has since been verified, shows a Tomahawk missile striking a naval base in Minab. As the camera pans, large plumes of dust and smoke are already visible near the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, suggesting the school was struck shortly before the impact on the base.

Tomahawk missiles are described by the Defense Department as long range, precision guided weapons capable of traveling roughly 1,000 miles. They follow a preprogrammed flight path and steer themselves toward designated targets. The missiles are about 20 feet long with an eight and a half foot wingspan and typically carry a warhead with explosive power comparable to roughly 300 pounds of TNT.

President Donald Trump denied that the United States was responsible when asked by reporters Saturday if U.S. forces had bombed the school. “No. In my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said, adding that Iranian munitions are “very inaccurate.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also facing questions over Russia intelligence remarks, stood beside Trump and said the Pentagon was investigating the strike but maintained that “the only side that targets civilians is Iran.” Those statements conflict with the evidence compiled from satellite imagery, videos, and other verified material tied to the Minab attack.

General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously confirmed that U.S. forces were conducting strikes in southern Iran around the same time the school and naval base were hit. During a news conference, Caine presented a map showing an area that included Minab near the Strait of Hormuz targeted in the first 100 hours of the operation.

Caine also said the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln strike group was applying pressure from the sea along the southeastern coast as the White House discussed expanded weapons production, and confirmed during a March 2 briefing that Tomahawk missiles were the “first shooters at sea” as the Navy began strikes across Iran’s southern flank. U.S. Central Command released its own video showing Tomahawks launching from Navy ships on February 28, the same day the Minab strikes occurred.

Determining exactly what happened remains difficult because reporters have not been able to access the site and investigators have not recovered visible weapon fragments from the scene.