Trump’s Tomahawk Lies Fact-Checked & Exposed? US President Accused of Spreading False Narrative Amid Minab School Tragedy

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump is facing growing scrutiny after his remarks about the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran’s Minab city, with critics accusing him of spreading misleading claims about the weapon allegedly used in the attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump was pressed by reporters over a deadly strike on a girls school in southern Iran that reportedly killed at least 165 people, after emerging footage suggested the building may have been hit by a Tomahawk cruise missile.

During a press interaction on Monday, a reporter asked Trump about reports indicating that a U.S. Tomahawk missile may have struck the school in the city of Minab during the early days of the ongoing conflict between Washington and Tehran. When asked whether the United States would take responsibility if the reports were confirmed, Trump said he had not seen the evidence and that the incident was still under investigation.

“Well, I haven’t seen it,” Trump said, adding that the Tomahawk missile “is used by, you know, sold and used by other countries”. He suggested that multiple nations possess the weapon and said it was still unclear who launched it.

A reporter then challenged the president’s claim, noting that Trump appeared to be the only official in his administration publicly suggesting Iran could have carried out the strike itself.

“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,” the reporter said. “But you’re the only person in your government saying this. Even your defense secretary wouldn’t say that. Why are you the only person saying this?”

Trump responded that he did not have enough information about the incident.

“Because I just don’t know enough about it,” he said. “I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation… but Tomahawks are used by others, as you know.” He added that he would accept the findings once the investigation is completed.

However, defence analysts and open-source researchers quickly pushed back on the claim, saying Trump’s remarks about the missile’s availability were misleading.

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a precision-guided cruise missile designed and produced in the United States and primarily operated by the US Navy. The system is not widely distributed and is subject to strict export controls.

Only a limited number of close US allies are approved to operate or purchase the missile, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, with the Netherlands also exploring acquisition. The missiles are manufactured by RTX Corporation in the United States and exports require Washington’s approval.

Experts also rejected Trump’s suggestion that Iran might possess Tomahawk missiles. There is no credible public evidence indicating that Iran has access to US-made Tomahawk systems.

Instead, Iran operates its own domestically developed cruise missile programs, which differ from the US-made Tomahawk both technologically and operationally. Sanctions and export restrictions make any transfer of such US weapons to Tehran highly unlikely.

Newly released footage indicate that the munition used in the attack resembles a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile, raising questions about whether American forces may have been involved. The video, purportedly shows a Tomahawk cruise missile hitting the IRGC facility near the school on Feb. 28, shot from a construction site opposite the IRGC naval base.

Tomahawks are long-range, subsonic cruise missiles that can be fired from U.S. Navy warships and submarines. The munition, which is produced by Raytheon and was first used in combat by U.S. forces in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, can fly about 1500 kilometres.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the matter was under investigation and added that the “only side that targets civilians is Iran.” Defense officials have not confirmed who launched the missile, and independent investigators have yet to access the strike site amid the ongoing conflict.

The Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, located in Minab, Iran, in the nation’s southern Hormozgan Province, was hit on February 28 in a military strike, at the same time the U.S. attacked an adjacent Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) cultural building/naval base. 

The strike on the Minab school has triggered international outrage and renewed calls for an independent investigation into the incident. While the exact origin of the missile has not been officially confirmed, Trump’s comments have intensified debate over the narrative surrounding the attack and the responsibility for one of the deadliest reported civilian incidents in the escalating confrontation.

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