In February 2026, missiles destroyed a girls' primary school in Minab, Iran, killing more than 150 people — mostly children, according to Iranian state media.
The attack occurred on the same day, Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched a large-scale offensive on Iran, targeting military installations and killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United Nations' education agency called the strike "a grave violation of humanitarian law."
Shortly after the strike, rumors spread claiming Iran was behind it and that it was the result of a failed missile launch from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military. Posts shared screenshots (archived) of an alleged statement from the IRGC in which it appeared to take responsibility for the attack.
Snopes readers asked us to confirm whether an IRGC missile hit the school and whether the military branch admitted the strike was an "inadvertent mistake."
At the time of publishing this story, the exact source of the missile strike remained unconfirmed. Available evidence, however, did not support the claim that Iranian authorities were responsible. An image claiming to show an Iranian military missile that some users shared as support for the claim was taken far from the girls' school, according to analysis from journalists and researchers. The IRGC did not issue a statement claiming responsibility for the attack either, contrary to online claims.
Iranian officials (archived) have accused the U.S. and Israel of carrying out the strike, though neither country has taken responsibility for it. The U.S. said it was investigating any civilian casualty reports from the area, while Israel said it was not aware of any U.S.-Israeli strikes in the region.
A March 5 investigation by The New York Times found the school was likely damaged by a precision strike from the U.S. that occurred at the same time as strikes on a nearby IRGC base. U.S. officials also said they were carrying out operations in the same area. A Reuters report quoted anonymous U.S. military officials who said it was likely that U.S. forces were responsible for the strike on the school, though the investigation was still ongoing. On March 8, footage verified by The New York Times found a Tomahawk missile — used only by the U.S. in this conflict — hit the neighboring naval base.
On March 11, unnamed U.S. officials told The New York Times that a preliminary investigation by the military had found the U.S. was indeed responsible for the attack. Officials relied on outdated data when giving the coordinates for a missile strike. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the findings in a statement: "As The New York Times acknowledges in its own reporting, the investigation is still ongoing."
Given that the Times used anonymous sources for the report, Snopes cannot independently confirm its accuracy.
Below, we break down the main allegations circulating online that claim to support the conclusion that Iran hit its own girls' school with a missile.
Did Iranian authorities claim responsibility?
In short, no. Iranian authorities have not issued any official statements taking responsibility for the attack on the girls' school. Numerous posts spread the claim on X (archived here, here, and here) and shared the same screenshot of a Telegram account that reportedly shared an IRGC statement written in Farsi.
The screenshots showed a message from a Telegram channel called "Radio Gilan," which included authentic footage from the destroyed girls' school and translated message that read:
An IRGC aerospace missile hits a school in Minab County, Hormozgan province. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that this was an inadvertent mistake and that serious action will be taken against those responsible for this action.
(X user @IranSpec)
However, the above Telegram channel is not an official Iranian government account. Radio Gilan appears to be an anti-regime channel. The Telegram post did not provide an official source, nor did it link to any video of an IRGC spokesperson making such a statement. The statement did not appear on any Iranian government channels either. As such, this part of the claim is false.
We looked at the IRGC's official Telegram channel (as verified by the BBC), Sepah News, which shared footage and photographs of the destruction of the school on the ground. The caption of its post translated to (via Google Translate): "The situation of Minab Girls' School after the crime committed by the Zionist-American enemy."
(Telegram user sepahnews.ir)
Below is a screenshot of the same claim that we found on the Radio Gilan Telegram channel:
(Telegram user Radio Gilan)
The user, or users, behind Radio Gilan's Telegram channel have previously shared posts sympathetic to Reza Pahlavi — son of the former shah, or king, of Iran who was deposed in 1979 by Islamic revolutionaries — who has lived in exile for decades. In recent days, Pahlavi has expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's operation in Iran, called for dismantling Iran's nuclear arsenal and supported the killing of the ayatollah. He has also said he could lead the transition for a new Iranian government.
A YouTube channel called @RadioGilan — which appears to be connected to the Telegram channel because its correspondents use microphones with the same logo — also shares largely pro-Pahlavi content.
The YouTube channel uploaded footage of demonstrations in mid-February 2026 by the Iranian diaspora in Munich, which featured placards supporting Pahlavi and calling on Trump to "act" against the Iranian regime. Protesters also carried American and Israeli flags and wielded signs saying "Make Iran Great Again," an apparent reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina appeared at the protest and called for "a world without the ayatollah."
According to London-based news agency Iran International, which has purported ties to Saudi Arabia, Radio Gilan is run by Payman Behboudi, a Germany-based journalist. The YouTube channel states it is based out of Austria. We reached out to Behboudi via Telegram and will update this story if we receive a response.
Does photo show failed Iranian missile hitting school?
In short, no. The photograph was reportedly taken in a completely different part of Iran, according to independent analyses by credible media outlets and researchers. Snopes also identified key indicators that the photo was not captured in Minab, where the girls' school was located.
Posts (archived) on X shared an image of a purported missile reversing course and aiming for the ground, claiming it was an IRGC missile hitting the school:
Regarding Minab girls school which the regime in Iran claims was hit by America:
Footage shows whatever hit the school was a failed rocket launch from IRGC, it wasn't Israel or US.
Analysis of the area shows the school is in a middle of a military area full of IRGC bases.
(X user @Tarikh_Eran)
By comparing buildings and the background mountain range in the image with landmarks from the school footage, independent researchers and journalists determined the above photo was taken in Zanjan, Iran, which is around 800 miles from the girls' school in Minab.
A Tehran-based journalist with AFP reported that the Ava Dental Clinic in Zanjan is the same building that appears in the bottom right of the above photograph. It's also worth noting that Minab is a southern city close to the sea, and the weather is hot at the time of year when the attack occurred. Zanjan is farther north and colder at the same time of year, evidenced by the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
GeoConfirmed, an independent open-source intelligence project, also determined the location of the girls' school and the location of what it referred to as a misfired missile. According to GeoConfirmed, the above image "is from a misfire in Zanjan, Zanjan Province."
Furthermore, Snopes examined verified footage of the girls' school in the aftermath of the attack, and noted there were no high mountain ranges in the background or tall buildings like those seen in the image. If the missiles were headed toward the mountains, as they appeared to be in the image, it would be reasonable to assume that the school would be closer to the snow-capped mountain range. Google images from Minab show low-lying mountains and a less congested city, with buildings that are not as tall as those in Zanjan.
Using Google's reverse image search tool, we found what appeared to be an early X post about the image shared at 9:15 a.m. EST Feb. 28. The post (archived) stated: "Zanjan: Two IRGC missiles malfunctioned and crashed in Iran shortly after launch." The image was posted by Iran Observatory, a France-based organization that describes itself as an "independent analysis platform" providing insights about Iran." We reached out to the account to determine the source of the image and await a reply.
Was the school near an Iranian military site?
Reports from New Lines Magazine and Al Jazeera English determined that the girls' school was next to an IRGC base on Resalat Boulevard in Minab. An Al Jazeera report said the school had been "clearly separate" from the adjacent military site for at least 10 years and its targeting was "deliberate."
Based on verified footage of smoke plumes rising from the base, The New York Times reported that the military site had been targeted by U.S. and Israeli missiles on Feb. 28, the same day the girls' school was hit by a missile. The Times reported that 2013 satellite images showed that the school building was part of the base at one point but by September 2016 had been walled off. Based on the timing of U.S. military strikes in the region, as well as satellite imagery, a March 5 investigation by the Times found the U.S. was likely responsible for the attack.
Satellite images we looked at from 2017 onward on Google Earth indicated that walls had been built around the school. As noted in New Lines Magazine's reporting, a Google Earth satellite image from 2018 shows walls painted in bright colors, indicating a school building:
(Google Earth)
In sum …
As of this writing, no credible sources attribute responsibility for the school attack to Iran itself. The U.S. and Israel have not taken responsibility for the missile attack. Independent reporting and the reported preliminary results of the official investigation state the U.S. was likely responsible for the destruction of the girls' school, though the investigation is ongoing. We will update this story as we learn more.
For further reading, we have unpacked several claims regarding the ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran.