Leavitt Gets Asked Flat Out: ‘Did the United States Airstrike a Girls Elementary School and Kill 175 People?’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the media after being flat-out asked at a Wednesday briefing whether the United States was responsible for a strike on an Iran elementary school that left 160 children.

“Did the United States airstrike a girls elementary school and kill 175 people?” New York Times White House correspondent Shawn McCreesh asked Leavitt on Tuesday.

Iranian media recently reported on a strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh all-girls elementary school in Minab, which led to at least 175 deaths, the majority of them children. The deaths followed the U.S. and Israel launching strikes against Iran, which have wiped out a number of high-ranking officials, including the country’s leader. Six U.S. service members have seen lost their lives after being targeted by an Iranian drone.

Leavitt said the matter is being investigated and noted that Iran’s government is well-known for their civil rights violations. While she could not concretely say one way or another who was responsible, Leavitt blasted the media, accusing them of “falling for” the narrative that the U.S. strikes were behind the school being hit.

She said:

Not that we know of, Shawn. And the department of war is investigating this matter and I would just tell you very strongly the United States of America does not target civilians unlike the rogue Iranian regime that targets civilians, that kills children, that has killed thousands of their own people in the past several weeks and uses propaganda quite effectively and unfortunately cover many people in this room have fallen for that propaganda. So I would caution you from pointing the finger at the United States of America when it comes to targeting civilians because that’s not something that these armed forces do.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at a press conference earlier in the day that the school strike is being investigated, adding, “We of course never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”

Watch above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!