US President Donald Trump said the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran was not intentional
June 18, 2026: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran earlier this year was not intentional and stressed that an official investigation into the incident is still underway. Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France, Trump rejected suggestions that the school had been deliberately targeted, describing the tragedy as a wartime mistake and noting that the findings of the inquiry would determine what happened.
The February 28 strike reportedly killed more than 175 students and teachers at a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Earlier reports suggested that an initial internal US military assessment found American forces were likely responsible for the attack. While the Pentagon later expanded its investigation, officials have not publicly confirmed any preliminary conclusions. Trump, who initially blamed Iran for the incident, has since said he would accept the outcome of the ongoing probe.
US military officials have described the investigation as complex because the school was located near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile facility. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, recently told lawmakers that the inquiry was approaching its final stages and emphasized the importance of transparency. Reports have also raised questions about whether outdated intelligence may have played a role in the targeting process, with the investigation expected to clarify any operational or intelligence failures behind the tragedy.