President Trump on Monday continued to suggest without evidence that Iran bombed an elementary school in the southern part of the country on the first day of the war, killing 175 of its own citizens, many of them children.
Video evidence verified by The New York Times shows a Tomahawk cruise missile striking a naval base beside the school in the town of Minab on Feb. 28.
Tomahawk missiles were developed by the United States and are being used by its forces in the current conflict; the United States has not sold that weapon to Iran. Only two U.S. allies are known to have Tomahawk missiles, and they did not carry out strikes on Feb. 28.
But Mr. Trump suggested Monday that Iran or another country could have fired the weapon.
Iran “also has some Tomahawks,” the president said during a news conference at Trump National Doral, a golf property he owns in Miami. “They wish they had more. But whether it’s Iran or somebody else, the fact that a Tomahawk — a Tomahawk is very generic. It’s sold to other countries.”
Mr. Trump first claimed that Iran struck the school on Saturday, telling reporters as he flew on Air Force One that “in my opinion and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” He added: “They’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”
However, Mr. Trump’s assertion was not echoed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who stood next to the president as he spoke. “We’re investigating it,” Mr. Hegseth replied, referring to an investigation by the Pentagon into the strike.
Other top Trump officials who’ve been pressed about the strike in the last week have continued to say only that the strike is under investigation.
When pressed Monday by a New York Times reporter about why no one else in his administration has echoed his claims about Iran’s involvement, Mr. Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it. I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are, are used by others. As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us.”
He added, “I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with.”
Tomahawk cruise missiles were developed in the latter part of the Cold War by the United States, and first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War. Only three countries are known to have them: Australia, Britain and the United States. Two additional countries have agreed to purchase them, Japan in 2024 and the Netherlands in 2025.
Iran does, however, have its own cruise missiles that were designed and produced inside the country. They are distinct from Tomahawks. Iran’s cruise missiles can be identified in part by their propulsion system — a gas turbine engine that bulges from the tail end of the missile — while the Tomahawk’s motor is fully contained inside the missile’s fuselage.
According to a 2019 report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran first announced it had developed a cruise missile called Meshkat in 2012 and followed it with a similar weapon called Soumar, which the intelligence agency said appeared to be based on the Russian air-launched AS-15 cruise missile.
Tomahawk missiles cost roughly $2.5 million each and can fly to targets more than 1,000 miles away. Their warheads contain the equivalent of about 300 pounds of TNT, and they are considered highly accurate.
Malachy Browne contributed reporting.
Shawn McCreesh is a White House reporter for The Times covering the Trump administration.
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