The Pentagon’s own preliminary investigation has quietly confirmed what mounting evidence already pointed to: a U.S. Tomahawk missile struck an Iranian girls’ elementary school, killing more than 170 people, most of them children. But true to form, President Donald Trump is still trying to pin the blame on “Iran or somebody else.”
According to U.S. officials familiar with the ongoing inquiry, the Feb. 28 strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, occurred because outdated Defense Intelligence Agency data falsely showed the school as part of a nearby military installation. That incorrect information was used by U.S. Central Command to generate targeting coordinates for the Tomahawk missile, The Independent reports.
Video and satellite images analyzed by independent researchers and verified by major outlets indicate the missile hit the area at the same time U.S. forces were striking an adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facility. The footage shows a Tomahawk cruise missile impacting near the school and nearby base, a weapon only the United States and a few close allies use, undercutting Trump’s attempts to blame Tehran.
Despite this growing evidence, Trump has repeatedly refused to accept responsibility. During a recent press appearance, he claimed the strike might have been carried out by Iran or “somebody else,” insisting Tomahawk missiles are “sold to other countries.” Independent fact‑checkers note Iran does not possess these weapons, and Trump’s claims are unsupported by any evidence.
When specifically asked whether the U.S. was responsible for the school bombing that killed dozens of children, Trump replied, “I don’t know about it.” He repeatedly emphasized he was “willing to live with whatever the report shows,” while offering no facts to back up his shifting assertions.
Iranian officials have said the Tomahawk strike at the girls’ school in Minab killed at least 168 to 180 people, a number consistent with multiple media reports, and highlighted the civilian nature of the facility. Satellite imagery has shown the school was fenced off from the neighboring IRGC compound for years and bore clear markers of an educational facility.
The White House initially dismissed the deadly blast as “propaganda” that journalists had “fallen for,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth avoided acknowledging U.S. responsibility, instead claiming the military was investigating and that “no nation takes more precautions” to protect civilians.
Footage from the site, verified by multiple outlets, paints a grim picture: thick smoke rising from the school courtyard, bodies being pulled from the rubble, and rescue workers struggling amid the wreckage. The attack stands as one of the deadliest civilian casualty events since the start of the broader U.S.–Israeli campaign against Iran.
International rights groups and law experts have condemned the bombing as a grave violation of protections for schools under international law, and human rights advocates are demanding a full, transparent investigation into how such a catastrophic error could occur.
But for now, Trump’s response remains the same: blame Tehran, blame “somebody else,” and deflect responsibility, even as the Pentagon’s own findings point squarely back at the United States.
