The attack on an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on February 28 killed more than 170 people, mostly children, prompting anger and calls for an investigation in the United States. Iranian authorities emphasized that this assault has become emblematic of the civilian toll in the US-Israeli war against Iran, reporting that the death toll has exceeded 1,300 people.
US President Donald Trump gave contradicting answers about the incident over the past week. In early instances, he blamed Iran for the bombing, but more recently, he claimed that he does not know the details of the strike. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that a preliminary Department of Defense investigation found that the US military was behind the strike. When asked whether he takes responsibility after the Times report, Trump once again said, "I don't know about it."
Several media outlets and independent investigations concluded that the strike was carried out with a Tomahawk missile, a US weapon that neither Iran nor Israel possesses. Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran "also has some Tomahawks" — a claim that was widely dismissed by military experts. While the US has sold Tomahawk missiles to some close allies, Iran has been under heavy sanctions by Washington and cannot purchase weapons from the US.
When pressed about why members of his own administration have not echoed his accusation that Iran carried out the attack, Trump said earlier this week, "Because I just don't know enough about it." He went on to stress that "numerous countries" have Tomahawk missiles before stating that he would accept the results of the investigation into the bombing. The US military confirmed that it used Tomahawk missiles in the opening strikes against Iran on February 28, and a Pentagon map showed strikes on Minab.
Republican Senator John Kennedy, a Trump ally, said on Tuesday that the US was behind the strike but stressed that the attack was not intentional, calling it a "terrible, terrible mistake" and expressing regret. Nearly all Senate Democrats sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday demanding answers about the Minab attack, seeking details on civilian harm mitigation measures and the role of artificial intelligence in target selection, and calling for a swift investigation and public release of findings.
Source: www.aljazeera.com