Trump claims ignorance as Pentagon admits U.S. missile killed more than 170 at Iranian girls’ school
A Pentagon probe has found that outdated U.S. targeting data caused an American Tomahawk missile to destroy an Iranian elementary school in the opening hours of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran. The findings stand in stark contrast to Trump’s efforts to blame Tehran “or somebody else” for the deadly attack.
Citing U.S. officials familiar with the preliminary findings, the New York Times reported Wednesday that the Feb. 28 hit on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school stemmed from the use of old Defense Intelligence Agency data showing the school building to be part of an adjacent Iranian military base.
The Times said the inaccurate data was provided by the DIA to U.S. Central Command, which created a targeting package for the missile strike that included the school building.
But when asked about the report on his way to Ohio Wednesday, Trump told reporters outside the White House: “I don’t know about it.”
According to Iranian officials, the Tomahawk hit killed more than 175 people, with the vast majority of the dead being children.
Evidence from data analysts reviewing satellite imagery, video footage and social media appears to show the school was hit by a precision strike and may have been hit more than once. Maps from the Department of Defense also appear to show two Iranian air defense targets surrounding the school’s location, which is within what the Pentagon describes as a “U.S./Israeli strikes” zone.
Outside military analysts also have suggested that the Pentagon’s AI-driven targeting — or human error that failed to check whether target maps were up to date — may have played a role in the strikes.
The Pentagon’s preliminary finding that the U.S. is to blame for the strike is unsurprising considering no other country involved in the war fields Tomahawk missiles, but it comes just days after Trump attempted to deflect blame for the attack by suggesting that Iranian forces — which do not possess Tomahawks — had used the cruise missiles to hit the school.
During a press conference on Monday, he claimed he hadn’t seen any evidence that the U.S. was responsible and falsely claimed Iran “has some Tomahawks” even though the cruise missiles are operated exclusively by the U.S. and a few key allies such as the U.K.
“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else … a Tomahawk, is very generic. It’s sold to other countries, but that’s being investigated right now,” he said.
When pressed further on why he’d make such a claim when even Hegseth had refused to go that far, Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”
“I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others. As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly whatever the report, I’m willing to live with that report,” he said.
When initially asked about the strike last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. “does not target civilians” and suggested that reports of the death toll were “propaganda” that journalists had “fallen for.”
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has boasted of ensuring that U.S. forces under his command do not abide by “stupid rules of engagement,” acknowledged the existence of an investigation last Wednesday, days after the missile strike.
