US Uses Unproven Weapon in Attack Destroying School in Iran

JAKARTA - The United States (US) attacked a school and sports hall in the southern Iranian city of Lamerd with a ballistic missile that has never been tested in combat.

This was reported by the New York Times (NYT) after analyzing footage and statements from weapons experts quoted by Russian Today on Tuesday, March 31.

The destruction of the school and sports hall came during the first wave of the US-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, February 28, the same day that US missiles destroyed a girls' elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab, killing 175 people, mostly children.

Meanwhile, in Lamerd, according to Iranian officials, at least 21 people were killed.

The NYT said the damage from the attack was consistent with a Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which exploded above its target, dispersing small tungsten pellets. According to the Pentagon, the weapon only completed its prototype phase last year.

The NYT said, like in Minab, the schools and sports halls targeted in Lamerd are located right next to the facilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The report added that archival satellite imagery showed the school and hall had been separated from the IRGC site for at least 15 years and listed as a civilian facility on popular online mapping services, including Google Maps.

The NYT said that, because the missile was new, it was more difficult to assess whether the PrSM attack was "deliberate" or came from a design flaw or faulty intelligence.

Based on official data, more than 1,000 civilians were killed as a result of the US-Israeli attack in Iran. Although US President Donald Trump refused to admit responsibility for the attack on the school in Minab, the Pentagon has opened an investigation into the incident.