The attack on an Iranian primary school in southern Iran last week was “unlawful” and should be investigated as a war crime, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
The attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School killed more than 170 people, including many students, according to Iranian officials. One U.S. official and one person familiar with the preliminary findings of the U.S. investigation into the attack say it looks increasingly likely that a U.S. munition was responsible for the strike.
From left: The Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, southern Iran, on Dec. 1, 2025, and on March 4, 2026, following a deadly U.S.-Israeli airstrike. Vantor; Planet Labs
While the school has been found to be located on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound, HRW reviewed information that shows the school is walled off “and has a separate entrance to the street from the rest of the compound.”
“The pattern of strikes in which distinct structures across the compound, including the school, were directly struck, as well as the entry points of the munitions visible on multiple buildings, indicate that the attack was carried out by highly accurate, guided munitions, rather than errant weapons whose guidance or propulsion systems failed or were otherwise disrupted and randomly struck the area,” the organization said in the report.
An investigation into the attack is needed to assess if those responsible should have known that there was a school there that was full of children and teachers, said Sophia Jones, a researcher with the Digital Investigations Lab at Human Rights Watch.
“Those responsible for an unlawful attack should be held to account, including prosecutions of anyone responsible for war crimes,” Jones said.