On Feb 28, two Tomahawk missiles slammed into the Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab as part of the US‑Israel offensive against Iran. The school sits on a former IRGC compound that, according to satellite imagery, had been converted into a civilian facility by 2017.
The primary targeting database still listed the site as an IRGC installation, a fact that was logged by analysts in 2019 but never integrated into the system that approved the strike.
Bloomberg’s investigation revealed that the Pentagon had leaned heavily on the Maven AI system, a Palantir product that stitches together 150 data streams to inform commanders. A Pentagon official admitted that the AI was expected to flag outdated intel, but the system failed to do so because the data feeds were not updated.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has declared the strike a war crime and is preparing a formal inquiry. Meanwhile, a mother from Minab, whose 8‑year‑old son was among the dead, said the village is still reeling from the loss.
The Trump administration has yet to issue a statement, and lawmakers in Washington are calling for a congressional hearing on the use of AI in targeting. The next step will likely involve a UN investigation and potential sanctions against the Pentagon for procedural lapses.