By Isabella McHugh
Staff Writer
New evidence found the United States to be responsible for the missile strike which killed over 175 people in an Iranian elementary school according to The American Prospect. The Trump administration initially deflected the blame, reported the New York Times.
On Feb. 28, a fatal strike from a Tomahawk missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school which was positioned next to an Iranian military base, according to the New York Times.
The Tomahawk is an American missile that was uncovered from the wreckage and debris. Its serial numbers and other various details line up with other munitions classified by the Department of Defense, another New York Times article reported.
Based on public U.S. official statements, satellite imagery, geographical footage and munition assessments, experts indicated that the strike occurred around the same time that U.S. forces carried out an attack on an adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base, CNN reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to passively address the incident to reporters on Air Force One stating,“They’re [Iran] very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,” according to the New York Times.
He now claims he is “willing to live” with the final report which marks the United States as the ones responsible, according to The American Prospect.
It had been highly suspected across multiple news sources that the U.S. was the one that carried out the strike. The reason why however, is not as highly presumed. The Council of Foreign Relations reports that outdated targeting information likely incited this military error.
Someone who was reportedly familiar with the Iranian school said that “the building had been identified as a factory and had been an approved strike target,” the Washington Post reported. Another source believed the U.S. had incorrect intel and thought the building was an arms depot.
A source who was close to the White House and had direct knowledge about the situation told NewsNation “We blew up that school. We did it based on bad intel; old maps. The White House hopes that this will blow over. It’s a black and white issue. They know where their bombs hit.”
Trump appeared to dismiss this information before reports were released. “The Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is sold and used by other countries,” he said in a statement. “Iran also has some Tomahawks,” he said in the New York Times.
The same New York Times article swiftly contradicted him, writing, “In fact, Iran has no Tomahawks. Any country the U.S. has sold Tomahawks to would have to obtain authorization from the State Department before transferring them to a third party, like Iran.”
Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, condemned Iran, stating that Tehran was becoming “increasingly desperate, deliberately positioning missile and drone launchers in densely populated civilian neighborhoods, near distribution centers, and inside residential areas.” He speculated that Iran was using its civilians as “human shields,” according to the New York Times.
The New Republic criticized Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., for his commentary on the incident. “Well, because we all agree that it’s a tragedy having the school hit,” Fetterman said. “What I don’t agree with the rest of my colleagues in the House is that it’s a war of choice, or it’s dumb, or all the things my colleagues have described, you know, this operation. I think it’s a good thing, and I support that.”
Regardless of outward opinion, the event triggered intense backlash nationally and worldwide presumably since the tragedy occurred to innocent children.
Trump told Axios during a phone interview that the war with Iran would end “soon” since there is “practically nothing left to target.” He went on to say, “Little this and that... Any time I want it to end, it will end.”
However, at a House Republican gathering on Mar. 9, Trump announced the U.S. hasn’t “won enough,” PBS wrote. Forbye, on Mar. 11, Trump told reporters at the White House, “We have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit, and we're not finished yet."
