Trump doubts US carried out February 28 Attack on Iran school on war’s first day

February 28 attack, probably carried out by US is yet unrevealed

The February 28 attack, likely carried out by the US, killed more than 175 children and teachers in the southern city of Minab.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the Iran war, that killed scores of children.

Reuters first reported in March that an initial internal US military investigation showed US forces were likely responsible for the fatal strike in Minab in southern Iran. The Pentagon has since elevated the probe but it has not acknowledged any preliminary findings.

“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying all over the place,” he said.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

“Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was,” Trump remarked, adding: “I don’t think it was us”.

Trump then called on Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, seated on a couch in the Oval Office, to back up his assertion.

“Well Mr President, we’ve taken the investigation very seriously, and when, when the appropriate time is right, whatever that outcome is, that’ll be the time to divulge,” Hegseth said.

The strike on February 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials.

The strike caused global outrage, with the UN human rights office calling it “absolutely horrific”. Deliberately attacking a school would likely be a war crime under international humanitarian law. US officials have publicly said Washington would not deliberately target a school.

Trump initially claimed, without evidence, Iran was responsible. He has since said he does not know enough about the strike, that an investigation is ongoing, that he will accept the results of the inquiry and that “nobody” purposefully attacked the school.

However, the strike may be the result of US use of outdated targeting data, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in March. The New York Times has previously reported that the school was hit by a US Tomahawk cruise missile, a weapon which Iran does not possess. CNN has also reported that the US was responsible for the attack.

In May, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Admiral Brad Cooper, told Congress the military will share the results of any investigation when complete and that a “complex” probe was under way.

Despite being in the minority, House Democrats filed impeachment proceedings against Hegseth in the wake of the attack.

Last week, Senate Democrats threatened to block his travel funds until he submits “unredacted civilian harm investigations”, including for the Minab school.

Credit: Reuters,MSN News