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The attack, which killed more than 170 people at an elementary school in southern Iran, has sparked outrage and calls for an investigation in the United States.
But President Donald Trump has given contradictory answers about the incident over the past week. In an early instance, he blamed Iran for the bombing. Most recently, he claimed not to know the details of the strike.
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The New York Times reported Wednesday that a Pentagon preliminary investigation into the bombing found that the U.S. military was behind the attack.
After the Times report, President Trump was asked whether he would take responsibility for the attack, and he again replied, “I don’t know about that.”
Days earlier, President Trump had claimed that Iran had bombed his country’s school in the southern city of Minab.
“From what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” President Trump said Saturday. “We think it was done by Iran, because, as you know, they are very inaccurate with munitions. They have no accuracy at all. It was done by Iran.”
At the time, the US President’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was standing behind him. He declined to endorse Trump’s assessment and instead reiterated that the Pentagon is investigating the incident.
The February 28 attack became emblematic of the civilian toll of the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran. At least 1,300 people were killed in the violence, Iranian officials said.
After new footage of the attack surfaced, multiple media outlets and independent investigations concluded that the attack was carried out with a Tomahawk missile, a U.S. weapon owned by neither Iran nor Israel.
President Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran “also has Tomahawks,” a claim widely dismissed by military experts.
“They wish they had more. But the fact that the Tomahawk, whether it’s Iran or someone else — the Tomahawk is very versatile. It’s sold to other countries,” he said.
The United States sells Tomahawk missiles to some close allies, but Iran is under severe sanctions from the U.S. government and cannot purchase weapons from the United States.
“Because I don’t know enough about it,” Trump said earlier this week when asked further about why members of his own administration don’t echo his accusation that Iran carried out the attack.
The US president went on to say he accepted the findings of the bombing, stressing that “many countries” have Tomahawk missiles.
“I absolutely will. Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to accept it,” Trump said.
The US military has admitted that it used Tomahawk missiles in the opening attack on Iran on February 28th.
And a Pentagon map marking the first attack on Iran last week showed the attack on Minab.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy, an ally of President Trump, said Tuesday that the United States was behind the attack, but stressed that it was not intentional.
“We’re looking into it, and we’re not going to hide it. I think it was a terrible, terrible mistake,” Kennedy told CNN. “The investigation may prove me wrong. I hope so. Children are still dead.”
He added, “I’m sorry that this happened.”
President Kennedy did not provide details on the basis of his assessment.
On Wednesday, nearly all Senate Democrats sent a letter to Hegseth demanding answers about the Minab attack.
They asked for details on how mitigation measures for civilians are being applied and the role of artificial intelligence in target selection.
“To be clear, the war against Iran is a war of choice without Congressional authorization. Nevertheless, as these military actions continue, the United States and Israel must abide by U.S. law and international law, including the laws of armed conflict,” the letter said.
“There should be a prompt investigation into this school attack and other possible U.S. military actions that harmed civilians, and the results should be made available to the public as soon as possible, along with any measures to hold accountable.”
