The attack that killed more than 170 people, mostly children, at an elementary school in southern Iran has sparked anger and calls for an investigation in the United States.
But President Donald Trump has been giving conflicting answers about the incident over the past week. He initially blamed Iran for the bombing. More recently he stated that he does not know the details of the strike.
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The New York Times reported Wednesday that a preliminary Defense Department investigation into the bombing found that the U.S. military was behind the attack.
Asked if he takes responsibility for the attack after the Times report, Trump again said, “I don’t know anything about that.”
Days earlier, Trump had insisted that Iran bombed his own school in the southern city of Minab.
“From what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump said Saturday. “We believe it was made by Iran, because, as you know, they are very imprecise with their munitions. They are not accurate at all. It was made by Iran.”
Pete Hegseth, the US president’s defense secretary, was behind him at the time. He declined to endorse Trump’s assessment and instead reiterated that the Pentagon is investigating the incident.
The February 28 attack has become a symbol of the civilian cost of the US-Israel war against Iran. The attack has killed at least 1,300 people, according to Iranian officials.
After new footage of the attack emerged, several media outlets and independent investigations concluded that the attack was carried out with a Tomahawk missile, a US weapon that neither Iran nor Israel possess.
Trump told reporters Monday that Iran “has some Tomahawks too,” a claim that was widely rejected by military experts.
“They wish they had more. But whether it’s Iran or anyone else, the fact that a Tomahawk… a Tomahawk is very generic. It’s sold to other countries,” he said.
While the United States has sold Tomahawk missiles to some close allies, Iran has been under heavy sanctions from Washington and cannot buy weapons from the United States.
Asked further about why members of his own administration have not echoed his accusation that Iran carried out the attack, Trump said earlier this week: “I just don’t know enough about it.”
The US president stressed that “numerous countries” have Tomahawk missiles before stating that he would accept the results of the investigation into the bombing.
“I certainly will. Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with it,” Trump said.
The US military has confirmed that it used Tomahawk missiles in the initial strikes against Iran on February 28.
And a Pentagon map of the initial strikes on Iran last week showed strikes on Minab.
Republican Senator John Kennedy, a Trump ally, said Tuesday that the United States was behind the attack, but stressed that the attack was unintentional.
“We’re investigating, but I’m not going to hide behind that. I think it was a terrible, terrible mistake,” Kennedy told CNN. “The investigation can prove me wrong, I hope so. The children are still dead.”
He added that he “regretted what happened.”
Kennedy did not provide details about the source of his assessment.
On Wednesday, nearly every Senate Democrat sent a letter to Hegseth demanding answers about the attack on Minab.
They sought details on how civilian damage mitigation measures are being applied and the role of artificial intelligence in targeting.
“To be clear, the war against Iran is a war of choice without congressional authorization. However, as long as these military actions continue, the United States and Israel must respect American and international law, including the law of armed conflict,” the letter said.
“There must be a swift investigation into the attacks on this school and any other possible US military action that causes harm to civilians, and the findings must be made public as soon as possible, along with any measures to hold them accountable.”
