President Trump blamed Iran for the deadly strike on a girls’ elementary school in the country following reports saying the US was responsible.
“We think it was done by Iran because they’re very inaccurate with their munitions,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One en route to the Shield of Americas summit in Florida Saturday.
“They have no accuracy, whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who stood beside Trump on the flight, added, “We’re still investigating.
“But the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”
During the first day of the joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, Shajarah Tayyebeh Girls’ School in southern Iran was struck, with Iranian officials claiming the death toll was over 180 people.
Unverified claims from Iranian state media say that 168 children and 14 teachers were killed in the strike.
The school was attached to a military compound tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and previously served as an IRGC headquarters facility, the Wall Street Journal reported. Satellite imagery from 2013 showed the school and the IRGC facility were once part of the same base, CNN reported.
Imagery from last December indicates it had a school’s courtyard and showed people paying there.
Multiple reports, including from the Wall Street Journal, said based on satellite imagery and other evidence, the US is likely responsible for that attack.
Imagery and data out of Iran are limited due to the theocratic regime’s internet blackout, which makes it difficult for independent groups to assess the strike.
Thus far, neither side has taken responsibility for what appears to be the deadliest strikes that hit civilians since the war with Iran broke out.
The school is located in Minab, which is not far from the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint, where about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil flows through annually.
Iran has blamed both the US and Israel for the deadly strikes. Israeli officials were not aware of the country carrying out strikes in the area, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Earlier this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of War was investigating.
“I would just tell you strongly, the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime, that … uses propaganda quite effectively,” Leavitt said.
“And unfortunately, many people in this room have fallen for that propaganda.”
