People briefed on the investigation told The New York Times that it appeared that US Central Command had created target coordinates for the strike using outdated information from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The school building was previously part of a nearby Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base but was separated and turned into a school sometime between 2013 and 2016, meaning the US military may have used information that was over a decade old. The US military has been using Artificial Intelligence to help with targeting, but the Times report said it appeared the strike on the school was likely the result of “human error.”

The Times said it reviewed satellite imagery showing that watchtowers that once stood near the building had been removed, three public entrances were opened to the school, ground was cleared, play areas, including a sports field, were painted on asphalt, and walls were painted blue and pink.

The report cited data from Kpler, a tanker-tracking firm, which found that since February 28, seven tankers have been loaded off the coast of Iran, and at least two have already left the Persian Gulf. Kpler’s data show that over the past six days, tankers have loaded an average of 2.1 million barrels of Iranian oil per day, higher than the 2 million barrels a day Iran exported in February.

The report comes as President Trump has been issuing repeated threats against Iran over the Strait of Hormuz as his administration is scrambling to deal with the impact his war is having on the global oil market. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has maintained that the strait is only open to ships that have its permission to cross, which includes Chinese vessels, as China is a major buyer of Iranian oil.

Other deadly strikes were reported in the Baalbek District of eastern Lebanon and in multiple areas of southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry updated the death toll since the latest Israeli war began, with 570 Lebanese killed in the last week and a half.

The 570 included 439 men, 45 women, and 86 children. They also noted that at least 14 healthcare workers were among the slain in the attacks. The official number of “registered” displaced people in Lebanon is now 780,000.

The Trump administration has entered this fight while still speaking in fragments about why it is fighting at all. Some officials hint at deterrence. Others imply disarmament. Others flirt with the language of regime change without quite owning it. Meanwhile, the constitutional question has not gone away. The National Constitution Center has noted that the new Iran campaign has revived the long-running dispute over whether a president can launch this kind of military action without prior congressional authorization. That is not a procedural footnote. It goes to the heart of whether the country knows who decided to gamble with another war and on what terms.

Americans seem to understand the problem even if Washington pretends not to. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on March 1 found that only 27 percent of Americans approved of the strikes on Iran, while 43 percent disapproved and roughly three in ten were unsure. People can usually sense when a government is not leveling with them. They know when slogans are being used as a substitute for policy.

Prior to the report, the Pentagon had only said that eight US soldiers were “seriously wounded” and confirmed the deaths of eight US service members, including seven killed by Iranian counterattacks and one who died during an unspecified “medical emergency.”

After the Reuters report was published, the Pentagon acknowledged that at least 140 US troops had been injured. “Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” he added.

The president made the comments in a phone call with The Times of Israel, where he claimed that the US and Israel have ‘destroyed’ Iran.

“Iran was going to destroy Israel and everything else around it – We’ve worked together. We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel,” Trump said.

When asked if he alone would decide when the war is over or if Netanyahu would have a say, the president said, “I think it’s mutual — a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account.”

After the US and Israel first launched the war on February 28, Trump suggested it could last four weeks, but the timeline has repeatedly shifted, and there are signs that the US is preparing for a long, open-ended conflict.

Dave DeCamp

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akeaton@antiwar.com

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