President Donald Trump said the February strike on a girls' school in southern Iran was not an intentional attack.
The statement comes as international pressure mounts over the civilian casualties resulting from the strike, which targeted a facility where children and teachers were present.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, Trump said, "Nobody purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran" [1]. He said the tragedy was the result of a lack of precision, stating, "They have no accuracy whatsoever" [2].
The strike occurred in February 2026 in southern Iran. Reports on the death toll vary; one source indicates more than 175 children and teachers were killed [3], while reports citing Iran's judiciary state at least 85 students died [4].
Trump said that mistakes can occur during wartime and the investigation remains ongoing [3]. He said the event was not a deliberate act of aggression against the students.
The president's comments at the summit attempted to frame the incident as a technical or tactical failure rather than a policy decision. This occurs amid a broader context of volatile relations between the U.S. and Iran, where precision and accountability in military operations are under intense global scrutiny.
“"Nobody purposefully attacked a girls' school in Iran."”
The discrepancy in casualty figures—ranging from 85 students to over 175 total victims—highlights the difficulty of verifying data in contested regions. By attributing the strike to a lack of accuracy rather than intent, the administration seeks to avoid legal or diplomatic repercussions associated with the deliberate targeting of civilians and minors.
