The US May Have to Answer for the Iranian School Bombing

In the early hours of the Iran war, as Israel and the US began dropping their awe-inspiring ordnance, one barrage of American Tomahawk missiles apparently struck an elementary school, killing about 175 people, most of them young girls. An investigation is ongoing. But this accident could prove to be the worst tragedy committed by American forces in many years. What matters now, aside from ensuring that nothing like it happens again, is how the US, and above all President Donald Trump, responds.

Early indications are not encouraging. Ad-libbing aboard Air Force One, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth behind him, Trump opined that “based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” The assertion made no sense, since it was already clear that the weapons used were Tomahawks, which Iran does not have, even though Trump falsely claimed that it might. He then doubled down. “They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”