“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran,” Trump said.
Travis Gettys
March 9, 2026
RAW STORY
The U.S. military disputed President Donald Trump's claims about an airstrike that killed at least 175 people at an Iranian elementary school.
Three current and former defense officials, and even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pushed back on the president's claim that Iran had launched the attack on the Shajarah Tayyebeh school in Minab that left scores of children dead, reported The Intercept.
“This is another instance of Trump lying and just talking out of his a--,” said a U.S. government official who reviewed satellite images of the school. “This clearly was not a failed rocket from the IRGC base.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operated a navy base adjacent to the school, and social media accounts that support the restoration of Iran's monarchy pushed false claims about the attack that Trump then repeated.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran,” Trump said.
Hegseth stopped short of agreeing with the president, saying "we're certainly investigating." But U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that commenting before an investigation was complete was improper.
“It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation," said a CENTCOM spokesperson.
An expert examined video of the attack showing a cruise missile striking the naval base near the elementary school, which was already on fire, and he said the U.S. was clearly at fault and likely misidentified the target.
“This munition is only employed by the U.S., not Israel or Iran,” said Wes Bryant, a former Special Operations joint terminal attack controller who called in thousands of strikes across the Middle East. “The strikes on this compound have the signature of a U.S. strike. The strikes on this compound are also incredibly precise and well-placed. This entire compound — including the girls’ school — was deliberately targeted in a highly precise strike operation.”
Another former Pentagon official agreed with Bryant and the current U.S. official.
“The entry holes suggest a near perpendicular entry. Meaning, this strike was precisely targeting the structures from high above, not some short range attack with a ballistic missile,” said the former Pentagon official, who specialized in civilian harm issues. “All evidence points to the compound being repeatedly attacked — over the course of a couple hours potentially — with highly accurate munitions that we know the U.S. and Israel routinely use and have used in strikes across Iran.”
The U.S. military disputed President Donald Trump's claims about an airstrike that killed at least 175 people at an Iranian elementary school.
Three current and former defense officials, and even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pushed back on the president's claim that Iran had launched the attack on the Shajarah Tayyebeh school in Minab that left scores of children dead, reported The Intercept.
“This is another instance of Trump lying and just talking out of his a--,” said a U.S. government official who reviewed satellite images of the school. “This clearly was not a failed rocket from the IRGC base.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operated a navy base adjacent to the school, and social media accounts that support the restoration of Iran's monarchy pushed false claims about the attack that Trump then repeated.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran,” Trump said.
Hegseth stopped short of agreeing with the president, saying "we're certainly investigating." But U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that commenting before an investigation was complete was improper.
“It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation," said a CENTCOM spokesperson.
An expert examined video of the attack showing a cruise missile striking the naval base near the elementary school, which was already on fire, and he said the U.S. was clearly at fault and likely misidentified the target.
“This munition is only employed by the U.S., not Israel or Iran,” said Wes Bryant, a former Special Operations joint terminal attack controller who called in thousands of strikes across the Middle East. “The strikes on this compound have the signature of a U.S. strike. The strikes on this compound are also incredibly precise and well-placed. This entire compound — including the girls’ school — was deliberately targeted in a highly precise strike operation.”
Another former Pentagon official agreed with Bryant and the current U.S. official.
“The entry holes suggest a near perpendicular entry. Meaning, this strike was precisely targeting the structures from high above, not some short range attack with a ballistic missile,” said the former Pentagon official, who specialized in civilian harm issues. “All evidence points to the compound being repeatedly attacked — over the course of a couple hours potentially — with highly accurate munitions that we know the U.S. and Israel routinely use and have used in strikes across Iran.”
‘That Was Done by Iran,’ Trump Lies as More Evidence Shows US Was Behind School Massacre
“I guess acknowledging that you attacked a school and killed a bunch of children right off the bat might spoil POTUS’s splendid little war.”
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media traveling on Air Force One while heading to Miami on March 7, 2026.
(Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Mar 09, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
US President Donald Trump baselessly claimed over the weekend that Iran was behind the strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed more than 160 people—mostly young girls—during the first wave of US-Israeli bombings, even as evidence mounted that an American missile attack caused the devastation.
A reporter aboard Air Force One asked Trump straightforwardly whether the US bombed “a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war,” to which the president responded: “No. In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.”
The reporter then asked Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, standing right behind the president, whether the claim was true, and he declined to endorse it, saying, “We’re certainly investigating.”
Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, similarly declined to back Trump’s claim, telling ABC‘s Martha Raddatz on Sunday that he would “leave that to the investigators to determine.”
“I can tell you, as a veteran, in no uncertain terms, the United States does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties,” Waltz added. “Sometimes, of course, tragic mistakes occur.”
The administration officials’ comments on the massacre, which Human Rights Watch said should be investigated as a possible war crime, came as video footage, satellite images, and other evidence further indicated it was likely US forces who carried out the February 28 attack on the Iranian school in Minab. Reuters reported last week that, contrary to Trump’s claim, US military investigators believe American forces were likely behind the school bombing.
“I guess acknowledging that you attacked a school and killed a bunch of children right off the bat might spoil POTUS’s splendid little war,” Brian Finucane, a former US State Department lawyer, wrote on social media.
The new video footage, which shows a Tomahawk missile hitting an Iranian military facility near the school, was released by the Iranian outlet Mehr News and analyzed by Bellingcat.
“The US is the only participant in the war that is known to have Tomahawk missiles,” Bellingcat noted. “Israel is not known to have Tomahawk missiles.”
The New York Times, which independently verified the video, observed that “as the camera pans to the right, large plumes of dust and smoke are already billowing from the area around the elementary school, suggesting that it had been struck shortly before the strike on the naval base.”
“This is supported by a timeline of the strikes assembled by the Times that shows the school was hit around the time as the base,” the newspaper added. “The Times has identified the weapon seen in the new video as a Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon that neither the Israeli military nor the Iranian military has. Dozens of Tomahawks have been launched by US Navy warships into Iran since February 28, when the US-Israeli attack on Iran began.”
A group of six Democratic US senators said in a joint statement late Sunday that they are “horrified” by the latest reports on the school strike, noting that “independent analysis credibly suggests the strike may have been conducted by US forces, which if true, would make it one of the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of American military action in the Middle East.”
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” said Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Patty Murray of Washington, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Chris Coons of Delaware. “This incident is particularly concerning in light of Secretary Hegseth’s openly cavalier approach to the use of force, including his statement that US strikes in Iran wouldn’t be bound by ‘stupid rules of engagement,’ in his words.”
“I guess acknowledging that you attacked a school and killed a bunch of children right off the bat might spoil POTUS’s splendid little war.”
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media traveling on Air Force One while heading to Miami on March 7, 2026.
(Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Mar 09, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
US President Donald Trump baselessly claimed over the weekend that Iran was behind the strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed more than 160 people—mostly young girls—during the first wave of US-Israeli bombings, even as evidence mounted that an American missile attack caused the devastation.
A reporter aboard Air Force One asked Trump straightforwardly whether the US bombed “a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war,” to which the president responded: “No. In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.”
The reporter then asked Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, standing right behind the president, whether the claim was true, and he declined to endorse it, saying, “We’re certainly investigating.”
Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, similarly declined to back Trump’s claim, telling ABC‘s Martha Raddatz on Sunday that he would “leave that to the investigators to determine.”
“I can tell you, as a veteran, in no uncertain terms, the United States does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties,” Waltz added. “Sometimes, of course, tragic mistakes occur.”
The administration officials’ comments on the massacre, which Human Rights Watch said should be investigated as a possible war crime, came as video footage, satellite images, and other evidence further indicated it was likely US forces who carried out the February 28 attack on the Iranian school in Minab. Reuters reported last week that, contrary to Trump’s claim, US military investigators believe American forces were likely behind the school bombing.
“I guess acknowledging that you attacked a school and killed a bunch of children right off the bat might spoil POTUS’s splendid little war,” Brian Finucane, a former US State Department lawyer, wrote on social media.
The new video footage, which shows a Tomahawk missile hitting an Iranian military facility near the school, was released by the Iranian outlet Mehr News and analyzed by Bellingcat.
“The US is the only participant in the war that is known to have Tomahawk missiles,” Bellingcat noted. “Israel is not known to have Tomahawk missiles.”
The New York Times, which independently verified the video, observed that “as the camera pans to the right, large plumes of dust and smoke are already billowing from the area around the elementary school, suggesting that it had been struck shortly before the strike on the naval base.”
“This is supported by a timeline of the strikes assembled by the Times that shows the school was hit around the time as the base,” the newspaper added. “The Times has identified the weapon seen in the new video as a Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon that neither the Israeli military nor the Iranian military has. Dozens of Tomahawks have been launched by US Navy warships into Iran since February 28, when the US-Israeli attack on Iran began.”
A group of six Democratic US senators said in a joint statement late Sunday that they are “horrified” by the latest reports on the school strike, noting that “independent analysis credibly suggests the strike may have been conducted by US forces, which if true, would make it one of the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of American military action in the Middle East.”
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” said Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Patty Murray of Washington, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Chris Coons of Delaware. “This incident is particularly concerning in light of Secretary Hegseth’s openly cavalier approach to the use of force, including his statement that US strikes in Iran wouldn’t be bound by ‘stupid rules of engagement,’ in his words.”
‘10 Classrooms Full of Children’: US-Israeli War Kills Hundreds of Iranian, Lebanese Kids
“Classrooms of children in Iran. Hundreds of people in Lebanon. The ongoing genocide in Gaza,” said Jeremy Corbyn. “The message from our political and media class is clear: Their lives are less valuable than others.”
Iranian women hold photos of children who are killed by US-Israeli attacks, including a massacre at a Minab girls’ school that killed around 175 people, during a demonstration in Tehran on March 7, 2026.
(Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Brett Wilkins
Mar 09, 2026
“Classrooms of children in Iran. Hundreds of people in Lebanon. The ongoing genocide in Gaza,” said Jeremy Corbyn. “The message from our political and media class is clear: Their lives are less valuable than others.”
Iranian women hold photos of children who are killed by US-Israeli attacks, including a massacre at a Minab girls’ school that killed around 175 people, during a demonstration in Tehran on March 7, 2026.
(Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Brett Wilkins
Mar 09, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
US and Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 300 Iranian and Lebanese children over the past nine days as the attackers target apartment towers, single-family homes, schools, medical facilities, and other civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s Health Ministry said Sunday that 198 women and 190 minors have been killed by US and Israeli attacks since February 28, including six children under the age of 5. The youngest reported victim is an 8-month-old girl. Children account for more than 30% of those killed, according to the ministry, which also said that 1,044 women and 638 children have been injured.
Overall, Iran said that more than 1,300 people have been killed by the airstrikes, which are reportedly targeting 30 of the country’s 31 provinces.
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced Sunday that 394 people, including 42 women and 83 children, have been killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacks after Iran-backed Hezbollah joined the war.
The US-based charity Save the Children noted Monday that the number of slain Iranian and Lebanese minors is the equivalent of “10 classrooms full of children.”
“It is devastating that airstrikes in Lebanon have reportedly caused the deaths of 83 children... among nearly 300 children killed in the region,” said Save the Children Lebanon director Nora Ingdal. “These are not just numbers—these are young lives cut short and children whose futures have been forever scarred by war.”
Israel claims it has killed around 200 Hezbollah fighters. However, the IDF’s routine attacks on apartment towers and other residential buildings have drawn widespread condemnation.
On Sunday, an IDF strike massacred 18 people sheltering in an apartment building in Sir El-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh district. The building was housing some of the nearly 700,000 Lebanese forcibly displaced by Israeli attacks, including around 200,000 children. Local officials said women and children were among the victims.
US and Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 300 Iranian and Lebanese children over the past nine days as the attackers target apartment towers, single-family homes, schools, medical facilities, and other civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s Health Ministry said Sunday that 198 women and 190 minors have been killed by US and Israeli attacks since February 28, including six children under the age of 5. The youngest reported victim is an 8-month-old girl. Children account for more than 30% of those killed, according to the ministry, which also said that 1,044 women and 638 children have been injured.
Overall, Iran said that more than 1,300 people have been killed by the airstrikes, which are reportedly targeting 30 of the country’s 31 provinces.
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced Sunday that 394 people, including 42 women and 83 children, have been killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacks after Iran-backed Hezbollah joined the war.
The US-based charity Save the Children noted Monday that the number of slain Iranian and Lebanese minors is the equivalent of “10 classrooms full of children.”
“It is devastating that airstrikes in Lebanon have reportedly caused the deaths of 83 children... among nearly 300 children killed in the region,” said Save the Children Lebanon director Nora Ingdal. “These are not just numbers—these are young lives cut short and children whose futures have been forever scarred by war.”
Israel claims it has killed around 200 Hezbollah fighters. However, the IDF’s routine attacks on apartment towers and other residential buildings have drawn widespread condemnation.
On Sunday, an IDF strike massacred 18 people sheltering in an apartment building in Sir El-Gharbiyeh in Nabatieh district. The building was housing some of the nearly 700,000 Lebanese forcibly displaced by Israeli attacks, including around 200,000 children. Local officials said women and children were among the victims.
Another IDF aerial massacre in the southern Lebanese town of Tafahata killed eight people, including five members of the Ezzedine family, whose home was bombed.
“This time is much worse than the previous war,” Nabatieh Civil Defense chief Hussein Faqih told the National, referring to Israel’s 2023-25 attacks on Lebanon that killed more than 4,000 people, including nearly 800 women and over 300 children, in retaliation for Hezbollah’s rocket strikes in solidarity with Palestine during the Gaza genocide.
Israeli attacks on Iran during last year’s 12-Day War also killed more than 1,000 Iranians, including 436 civilians.
In the worst reported bombing of the current war—and possibly the deadliest US massacre since over 400 Iraqis were wiped out in a “precision strike” on a Baghdad bomb shelter during the 1991 Gulf War—around 175 Iranians, most of them young children, were killed in what first responders and victims’ relatives said was a so-called double-tap strike on an elementary school in Minab in southern Iran.
US military investigators reportedly believe the strike was carried out by US forces, but President Donald Trump has blamed Iran.
“This time is much worse than the previous war,” Nabatieh Civil Defense chief Hussein Faqih told the National, referring to Israel’s 2023-25 attacks on Lebanon that killed more than 4,000 people, including nearly 800 women and over 300 children, in retaliation for Hezbollah’s rocket strikes in solidarity with Palestine during the Gaza genocide.
Israeli attacks on Iran during last year’s 12-Day War also killed more than 1,000 Iranians, including 436 civilians.
In the worst reported bombing of the current war—and possibly the deadliest US massacre since over 400 Iraqis were wiped out in a “precision strike” on a Baghdad bomb shelter during the 1991 Gulf War—around 175 Iranians, most of them young children, were killed in what first responders and victims’ relatives said was a so-called double-tap strike on an elementary school in Minab in southern Iran.
US military investigators reportedly believe the strike was carried out by US forces, but President Donald Trump has blamed Iran.
On Monday, a group of Democratic US senators lead by Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said they were “horrified” by the school strike.
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” the senators said in a statement. “This incident is particularly concerning in light of [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth’s openly cavalier approach to the use of force, including his statement that US strikes in Iran wouldn’t be bound by ‘stupid rules of engagement,’ in his words.”
Multiple members of the UK Parliament have condemned the killing of Iranian and Lebanese children. Leftist Independent Jeremy Corbyn, a former Labour leader, said Monday on Bluesky: “Classrooms of children in Iran. Hundreds of people in Lebanon. The ongoing genocide in Gaza. The message from our political and media class is clear: Their lives are less valuable than others.”
“Every human being matters, and every human being deserves a life of peace,” Corbyn added.
Zahra Sultana, who quit Labour and started the socialist Your Party with Corbyn last year, mocked US and Israeli pretensions, saying in a BBC interview on Sunday—International Women’s Day—that the girls in the Minab school were slaughtered “apparently to liberate women.”
Retaliatory attacks by Iran have killed at least 11 Israelis and wounded nearly 2,000 others since February 28, according to Israel’s government. No Israeli child deaths have been reported. Seven US troops and at least 15 people in Gulf Arab nations have also been killed by Iranian counterattacks.
While the world’s focus is on Iran, Israeli occupation forces have continued killing and wounding people in Gaza and the West Bank of Palestine. Drop Site News reported Monday that eight Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including two women and at least as many children.
More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. More than 20,000 children have been killed and over 44,000 others wounded. More than 1 in 4 fatalities have been children in a war for which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and Israel is facing a genocide case currently before the International Court of Justice.
Since the 9/11 attacks, US-led wars have left nearly 1 million people dead in more than half a dozen countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa—over 400,000 of them civilians, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
“Every war is a war on children, and once again we are seeing them pay the highest price for a conflict they neither started nor had a say in,” Ingdal said Monday.
“Wars have laws, and children must be off limits in every conflict,” she added. “World leaders must act urgently to prevent further escalation. There must be an immediate cessation of hostilities, and all parties must uphold international humanitarian law and do everything in their power to protect civilians—especially children.”
“The killing of school children is appalling and unacceptable under any circumstance,” the senators said in a statement. “This incident is particularly concerning in light of [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth’s openly cavalier approach to the use of force, including his statement that US strikes in Iran wouldn’t be bound by ‘stupid rules of engagement,’ in his words.”
Multiple members of the UK Parliament have condemned the killing of Iranian and Lebanese children. Leftist Independent Jeremy Corbyn, a former Labour leader, said Monday on Bluesky: “Classrooms of children in Iran. Hundreds of people in Lebanon. The ongoing genocide in Gaza. The message from our political and media class is clear: Their lives are less valuable than others.”
“Every human being matters, and every human being deserves a life of peace,” Corbyn added.
Zahra Sultana, who quit Labour and started the socialist Your Party with Corbyn last year, mocked US and Israeli pretensions, saying in a BBC interview on Sunday—International Women’s Day—that the girls in the Minab school were slaughtered “apparently to liberate women.”
Retaliatory attacks by Iran have killed at least 11 Israelis and wounded nearly 2,000 others since February 28, according to Israel’s government. No Israeli child deaths have been reported. Seven US troops and at least 15 people in Gulf Arab nations have also been killed by Iranian counterattacks.
While the world’s focus is on Iran, Israeli occupation forces have continued killing and wounding people in Gaza and the West Bank of Palestine. Drop Site News reported Monday that eight Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including two women and at least as many children.
More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. More than 20,000 children have been killed and over 44,000 others wounded. More than 1 in 4 fatalities have been children in a war for which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, and Israel is facing a genocide case currently before the International Court of Justice.
Since the 9/11 attacks, US-led wars have left nearly 1 million people dead in more than half a dozen countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa—over 400,000 of them civilians, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
“Every war is a war on children, and once again we are seeing them pay the highest price for a conflict they neither started nor had a say in,” Ingdal said Monday.
“Wars have laws, and children must be off limits in every conflict,” she added. “World leaders must act urgently to prevent further escalation. There must be an immediate cessation of hostilities, and all parties must uphold international humanitarian law and do everything in their power to protect civilians—especially children.”
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