President Donald Trump on Friday said the culpability for a strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed over 100 school-aged children is still “under study.”
The strike took place on the opening day of the war in Iran, Feb. 28, when a missile, identified in video by weapons experts as a U.S. Tomahawk, reportedly struck Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, killing over 150 people, mostly school-aged girls.
Trump was asked about the strike that occurred 10 weeks ago while fielding questions from reporters before boarding Marine One to head to Sterling, Virginia, for an LIV Golf event.
“That’s under study right now,” Trump said of the incident. “We’ll give you a report as soon as we have it.”
On March 4, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said military personnel were investigating the strike a few days after it was first made public. He emphasized that the U.S. military “never” targets civilians.
Trump was pressed on the issue March 9, at first suggesting an Iranian Tomahawk was responsible for the strike, even though Iran does not possess the missile. Moments later, he said he didn’t “know enough about it.”
Following Hegseth’s confirmation of an investigation and Trump’s comments on the subject, the New York Times reported March 11 that preliminary military findings found the United States was responsible for the strike, as the school was near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base.
The New York Times reported that officers at U.S. Central Command compiled the target coordinates using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed the New York Times report and said the investigation is still ongoing.
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Senate Democrats issued a letter demanding answers from Hegseth on what could have led to the strike that killed children, but little has come of their request.
As the war enters its third month and with peace negotiations falling through on more than one occasion, there have been little to no answers from the Trump administration on the incident.
