Tragic Airstrike in Iran: Precision Targeting or Outdated Information?
A devastating airstrike on an Iranian elementary school, resulting in the loss of approximately 165 lives, primarily schoolgirls, has raised questions about the intended targets of the operation. Recent analysis of commercial satellite imagery by NPR reveals more targeted sites near the school than previously reported.
The imagery, provided by the company Planet, indicates that the school was impacted as part of a precise airstrike on a nearby Iranian military complex, potentially due to outdated targeting data. The images, captured in the city of Minab in southeastern Iran, also reveal that a health clinic and other structures in the vicinity were struck. Although the images are low-resolution, three independent experts confirmed NPR’s findings regarding additional strike points.
Corey Scher, a postdoctoral researcher at the Conflict Ecology Laboratory at Oregon State University, described the strike points as “pretty clean detonation centroids.” Oregon State associate professor Jamon Van Den Hoek concurred, noting that the sites appeared to be detonation points.
Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at Middlebury College who specializes in satellite imagery, supported the assessment that the imagery demonstrated precision targeting. “Almost all the buildings [in the compound] are hit,” Lewis explained to NPR.
Reports from Iranian state media confirmed the death toll and identified the school as a girls’ school. Satellite images and public information reveal that the school was situated less than 100 yards from the boundary of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Naval base. The health clinic was located within the base’s perimeter, though both facilities were segregated by walls.
Despite speculation, Israel has denied any involvement. “We are not aware at the moment of any IDF operation in that area,” stated Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Nadav Shoshani in an interview with NPR. “I don’t know who’s responsible for the bombing,” Shoshani added.
At a press briefing, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated, “All I know, all I can say, is that we’re investigating that. We, of course, never target civilian targets.” Hegseth’s comments underscore the ongoing investigation into the incident.
Jeffrey Lewis suggested that given Minab’s southwestern location in Iran, it is more plausible that the strike was conducted by the U.S. rather than Israel. He noted, “As one gets further south and west in Iran, a strike is much more likely to be a U.S. strike than an Israeli strike because of the type of munitions and the geographic location.”
Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, characterized the strike as “deliberate” and accused the U.S. and Israel of intentionally targeting the school to distract Iranian forces with rescue operations. He called the attack “evil and depraved,” emphasizing its severity in a statement.
However, Lewis speculated that the strike might have been an error, noting that the school and clinic had been walled off from the military base in recent years. He suggested that American military planners might not have updated their targeting information, stating, “There are thousands of targets across Iran, and so there will be teams in the United States and Israel that are responsible for tracking those targets and updating them. It’s possible that the target didn’t get updated.”
As of now, the Pentagon has not provided additional details regarding the airstrike in response to NPR’s inquiry.
NPR’s Arezou Rezvani and the RAD team contributed to this report.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
