The U.S. military has refused to endorse President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran bombed a girls’ school in southern Iran, despite Trump’s public assertion that the attack was carried out by Iran, not U.S. forces. The incident, which killed at least 175 people, many of them children, has become a focal point of controversy between the former president and his own defense leadership.

Defense Officials Reject Trump’s Claim

Three current and former defense officials, including Trump’s own Pentagon chief, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have pushed back on the former president’s allegations. A U.S. government official who reviewed satellite images of the Shajarah Tayyebeh school stated that the attack was not caused by a failed rocket from the Islamic Major Guard Corps (IRGC) base near the school.

“This is another instance of Trump lying and just talking out of his ass,” the official said, adding that the school was clearly not hit by an IRGC missile. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the claim that Iran struck the school was part of a misinformation campaign spread by social media accounts supporting the restoration of Iran’s monarchy.

Trump, however, endorsed the dubious claim when questioned aboard Air Force One on Saturday. “Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran,” he said, referring to the attack on the school, which killed at least 175 people, many of them children, according to Iranian health officials and state media.

CENTCOM Calls Trump’s Comments ‘Inappropriate’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, standing alongside Trump, was asked if the claim was true but failed to endorse it. “We’re certainly investigating,” he said before offering a non-denial denial. “But the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”

U.S. Central Command, the regional military command that oversees the Middle East, said it was inappropriate to comment on the incident while an investigation was ongoing. A CENTCOM spokesperson said, “It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation.”

A video released by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News Agency on Sunday shows a cruise missile striking the naval base beside the elementary school, with smoke billowing from the school itself. According to Bellingcat, the cruise missile was a Tomahawk, a type of weapon only used by the U.S., not Israel or Iran.

Experts Say U.S. Strike Likely Caused Damage

Wes Bryant, a former Special Operations joint terminal attack controller, said the missile used in the attack was a Tomahawk, which is only employed by the U.S. “This munition is only employed by the U.S., not Israel or Iran,” Bryant said. He added that the strikes on the compound were precise and well-placed, indicating a U.S. attack.

Bryant, a former adviser to a Pentagon body that provides analysis and training to mitigate civilian harm, said the school was likely hit due to “target misidentification,” meaning U.S. forces mistook it for a military target. “The strikes on this compound have the signature of a U.S. strike,” Bryant told The Intercept. “The strikes on this compound are also incredibly precise and well-placed. This entire compound — including the girls’ school — was deliberately targeted in a highly precise strike operation.”

According to an investigation by New Lines Magazine, the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school was once connected to the IRGC base by roads, but the building was partitioned off by 2016. Reports of the attack began to appear on social media just after 11:30 a.m. local time. An analysis by the New York Times based on satellite imagery, social media posts, and verified videos found that the school was hit at roughly the same time as the naval base.

A former Pentagon official who specialized in civilian harm issues echoed Bryant and the current U.S. official. “The entry holes suggest a near perpendicular entry,” the former official said. “Meaning, this strike was precisely targeting the structures from high above, not some short-range attack with a ballistic missile.”

The former defense official added that the vertical entry suggested a more parabolic trajectory than a short-range missile would show, indicating a longer-range weapon was used. The official pushed back against Trump’s claims, noting that the attack occurred within an hour of the announcement of U.S.-Israeli strikes and an hour before any reported Iranian retaliation.

“All evidence,” the former official said, “points to the compound being repeatedly attacked — over the course of a couple hours potentially — with highly accurate munitions that we know the U.S. and Israel routinely use and have used in strikes across Iran.”

CENTCOM would not offer an estimated civilian death toll for the U.S. war on Iran. More than 1,230 Iranian civilians have been killed, according to the Tehran Times. Hegseth, speaking at a press conference, said, “America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history. No stupid rules of engagement.”

A new investigation by Airwars, a U.K.-based air strike monitoring group, found that the first days of the Iran war saw far more sites targeted than any recent U.S. or Israeli military campaign. The report noted that the targets map heavily onto the highest populated areas, raising concerns about civilian harm.

Bryant, the former Pentagon adviser on civilian harm, said Trump’s claim that Iran hit the school is part of a pattern — and a dark turn for the country. “If the administration truly believed that this was Iranian-caused, whether intentionally or inadvertently, then they should have immediately stated so, along with providing intelligence or information that proves such an assertion,” Bryant said. “But we know this was not the case.”