{"id":58070,"date":"2026-03-11T04:29:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=58070"},"modified":"2026-03-11T04:29:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:29:18","slug":"missile-fragment-from-iran-school-massacre-marked-made-in-usa-but-trump-keeps-lying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/11\/missile-fragment-from-iran-school-massacre-marked-made-in-usa-but-trump-keeps-lying\/","title":{"rendered":"Missile Fragment From Iran School Massacre Marked \u2018Made in USA\u2019 \u2013 But Trump Keeps Lying"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As Iranian officials displayed US-marked fragments of a missile believed to have been used in Saturday\u2019s massacre of around 175 mostly school <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/children\">children<\/a> in Minab, President <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> on Monday doubled down on his unfounded claim that Iran carried out the strike.<\/p>\n<p>The president suggested during a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QLMqEZ-icNw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press conference<\/a> at his Trump National Doral Miami resort that Iran may have used a US Tomahawk missile to carry out the February 28 attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls\u2019 elementary school in Minab.<\/p>\n<p>Trump falsely claimed that Iran has \u201csome\u201d of the highly restricted cruise missiles after one of them was recorded hitting an Iranian military facility near the school just after Saturday\u2019s strike there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Tomahawk is very generic,\u201d Trump added. \u201cIt\u2019s sold to other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/new-york-times\">New York Times<\/a><\/em> reporter Shawn McCreesh pressed Trump on his claim, asking, \u201cYou just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war&#8230; Why are you the only person saying this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump replied: \u201cBecause I just don\u2019t know enough about it. I think it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:iu4j537hox5huj4bwnwgub4z\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mgnwdzycql2u\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreiermz7bvfjk4zurdaqljtovd3igyk6rzx24fuki7tvpfelbpcp2xy\">\n<p lang=\"en\">Reporter: You just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war. But you&#39;re the only person in your government saying this. Why?Trump: Because I just don&#39;t know enough about it. <\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:iu4j537hox5huj4bwnwgub4z?ref_src=embed\">Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:iu4j537hox5huj4bwnwgub4z\/post\/3mgnwdzycql2u?ref_src=embed\">2026-03-09T22:39:38.365Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Iran has no Tomahawks, which are not \u201cgeneric.\u201d Originally developed by General Dynamics and now manufactured by Raytheon, the BGM\u2011109 Tomahawk is a specific long-range cruise missile designed and produced in the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/united-states\">United States<\/a>. Only two other countries \u2013 Australia and the United Kingdom\u2014are known to have Tomahawks in their arsenals, although Japan and the Netherlands have also agreed to buy them.<\/p>\n<p>The US also does not sell weaponry to the Iranian government \u2013 with the extraordinary exception of the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/nsarchive.gwu.edu\/events\/iran-contra-affair-1985-1994\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Iran-Contra Affair,<\/a> in which the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran in order to fund anti-communist Contra terrorists in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s Monday remarks followed his Saturday comments to reporters aboard Air Force One, where he said that the bombing \u201cwas done by Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was accompanying Trump, notably <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-lies-iran-school-strike\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declined<\/a> to back Trump\u2019s claim, saying only that \u201cwe\u2019re certainly investigating\u201d the strike.<\/p>\n<p>US Ambassador to the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/united-nations\">United Nations<\/a> Michael Waltz also did not endorse the president\u2019s assertion, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oWKqSYiRLRA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telling<\/a> <em>ABC News<\/em>\u2019 Martha Raddatz Sunday that he would \u201cleave that to the investigators to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waltz \u2013 a former Army Special Forces officer who served in Afghanistan \u2013 also <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/video\/u-n-amb-mike-waltz-says-iran-has-been-at-war-with-us-and-trump-is-ending-it-full-interview-258930245675\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> <em>NBC News<\/em>\u2019 Meet the Press Sunday that \u201cwe never deliberately attack civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 400,000 civilians in over half a dozen countries have been killed in US-led wars since <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/911\">9\/11<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/costsofwar.watson.brown.edu\/findings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to<\/a> the Costs of War Project at Brown University\u2019s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-lebanon-children-killed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hundreds<\/a> of Iranian civilians have been killed by US and Israeli bombing since February 28. Israeli airstrikes have also killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians during the same period.<\/p>\n<p>During Monday\u2019s press conference, Trump said that he is \u201cwilling to live with\u201d whatever the probe into the Minab school strike shows.<\/p>\n<p>A preliminary US intelligence assessment <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-bombed-iran-girls-school\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reportedly concluded<\/a> that the United States is \u201clikely\u201d responsible for the strike, although a probe is ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, the <em>New York Times<\/em> <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/09\/world\/middleeast\/iran-school-strike-us-missile.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published photos<\/a> of fragments purportedly from a missile used in the school strike, which were marked with the names of multiple companies that produce Tomahawk components, a unique Department of Defense contract number, and \u201cMade in USA.\u201d Another remnant is marked SDL ANTENNA, a key satellite data link component of Tomahawk missiles.<\/p>\n<p>Paramedics and victims\u2019 relatives <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-school-double-tap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the school bombing was a so-called \u201cdouble-tap\u201d airstrike\u2014a common tactic used by US, Israeli, and Russian forces in which attackers bomb a target and then follow up with a second strike meant to kill survivors and first responders.<\/p>\n<p>If carried out by the US, the Minab school strike would be one of the deadliest US civilian massacres in modern times, ranking with the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2021\/02\/15\/gulf-war-30-years-ago-memories-shelter-baghdad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bombing<\/a> of a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/baghdad\">Baghdad<\/a> bomb shelter during the 1991 Gulf War \u2013 which killed more than 400 people\u2014and the March 2017 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2020\/11\/19\/washington-post-publishes-names-and-details-1400-civilians-killed-us-led-bombings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">slaughter<\/a> of at least 105 people in an apartment building in Mosul, Iraq during Trump\u2019s \u201c<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-military-amnesty-international-raqqa-syria-civilians-isis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">war of annihilation<\/a>\u201d against the so-called Islamic State.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s claim that Iran may have bought a US missile whose sale is restricted to just a handful of close allies and used it to bomb its own school prompted worldwide ridicule.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/us-senate\">US Senate<\/a> Majority Leader <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/chuck-schumer\">Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) said on the upper chamber floor Tuesday that \u201cIran doesn\u2019t have Tomahawk missiles, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe claim is beyond asinine,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe says whatever pops into his head no matter what the truth is. And we all know he lies, but on something as formidable as this, it\u2019s appalling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump is lying through his teeth,\u201d Schumer added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mgplubwduv2p\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreib4elwa4c2kw4bitx34ptxhxubrmnrc3awpw4opxy72yiuppzg7oy\">\n<p lang=\"en\">Schumer: &#34;Iran doesn&#39;t have Tomahawk missiles, Donald Trump! The claim is beyond asinine. He says whatever pops into his head no matter what the truth is. And we all know he lies, but on something as formidable as this, it&#39;s appalling.&#34;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc?ref_src=embed\">Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc\/post\/3mgplubwduv2p?ref_src=embed\">2026-03-10T14:37:12.753Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Barry Andrews, an Irish politician who serves as a Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BarryAndrewsMEP\/status\/2031277732332495164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> on X that Trump\u2019s \u201clatest use of the \u2018big lie\u2019 tactic&#8230; was to claim that Iran somehow possesses US-made Tomahawk missiles and fired upon its own girls school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch blatant lies are meant to distract,\u201d Andrews added. \u201cHe knows the world will move on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>New Yorker <\/em>cartoonist Mark Thompson <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/sonofathomp.bsky.social\/post\/3mgn7zksbs22u\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quipped<\/a>, \u201cHow Iran fired a Tomahawk missile at their own school is beyond me, but President Trump wouldn\u2019t lie to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reza Nasri, an <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/international-law\">international law<\/a> expert at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RezaNasri1\/status\/2031171878157455853\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> on X that \u201cTrump claims that Iran somehow got its hands on a US Tomahawk cruise missile and used it to bomb its own elementary school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk him how Iran could possibly have obtained such missiles \u2013 and how it allegedly launched one, given that Tomahawks are typically fired from naval platforms, primarily warships and submarines,\u201d Nasri added. \u201cDid Iran get its hands on US warships and submarines too?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Iranian officials displayed US-marked fragments of a missile believed to have been used in Saturday\u2019s massacre of around 175 mostly school children in Minab, President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his unfounded claim that Iran carried out the strike. The president suggested during a press conference at his Trump National Doral Miami [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-58070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"Trump falsely claimed that Iran has \u201csome\u201d highly restricted Tomahawk missiles as additional evidence pointed to US culpability for the deadly strike."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58070"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58075,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58070\/revisions\/58075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58070"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}