‘It Was Done By Iran’: Trump Places Blame For Deadly Strike on Girls’ School

President Donald Trump placed the blame firmly on Iran Saturday for the deadly strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed upwards of 160 people in the first day of Operation Epic Fury.

During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on the way to the Shield of Americas summit in Florida, a reporter asked, “Did the United States bomb a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran in the first day of the war and kill 175 people?”

“No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said.

The reporter followed up with a question for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, asking “Is that true, Mr. Hegseth, that it was Iran who did that?”

“We’re investigating,” Hegseth said, before backing Trump’s assumption.

“But, the only the only side that targets civilians is Iran,” Hegseth maintained.

Trump interjected, “We figure it was done by Iran, because they’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”

Trump’s assertion contradicts both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reports that U.S. forces were “likely responsible” for the Feb. 28 strike.

The Journal reported Friday, “U.S. military investigators think American forces likely were responsible for a strike that killed dozens of children at a girls elementary school in Iran, a U.S. official said. The investigation hasn’t reached a final conclusion, the official said.”

The report continued, “Shajarah Tayyebeh Girls’ School, in the town of Minab near the Strait of Hormuz, was hit Saturday on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli air campaign in what appears to be the deadliest strike of the war. Iran said more than 160 people were killed, including many children, a figure that couldn’t be independently verified.”

Reuters cited “two U.S. officials,” for its report Thursday, adding, “Reuters was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence ‌contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the U.S. might have struck the school.”

Fox News’s Laura Ingraham posted Friday, “If true, this is horrific news–and the U.S. military will have to address this publicly. Proximity of military compound obviously a factor, but our weapons also have pinpoint accuracy.”

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