Jennifer Newsom slams Trump over deadly Iran school strike: ‘How does the president explain this?’

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Gavin Newsom’s wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom has thrashed President Donald Trump over the Iranian school bombing, which preliminary inquiry suggests was caused by a US Tomahawk missile. 

The deadly strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building in Minab, a city in the Hormozgan province of southern Iran, reportedly happened on the first day of US military action against February 28. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was also killed on the same day.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom accuses Trump of 'sidestepping responsibility' in Iran school bombing

Shiva Amelirad, a Canada-based representative of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, told TIME that approximately 108 children died in the attack. “Due to the limited capacity of the hospital morgue, refrigerated vehicles have reportedly been used to store the bodies of the victims,” she added. 

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Jennifer wrote, “This is horrifying. A preliminary military investigation found the US responsible for a deadly missile strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school. At least 175 people were killed, most of them children.”

“As Trump sidesteps responsibility, parents are now burying their daughters. How does the President explain this to the American people?” the first partner of California added.

Report points to outdated targeting data for deadly school strike

Jennifer posted her remarks while also resharing a New York Times article with the headline, “US at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says.” The report, citing US officials and other sources familiar with the preliminary findings, noted that the attack on the school happened because of outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency. 

The US military was reportedly targeting an adjacent Iranian military base, of which the elementary school building was formerly a part. 

Meanwhile, Trump has claimed that he has no idea about the strike. 

“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,” the POTUS told reporters on Monday, March 9.

He, however, added, “I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I'm willing to live with that report.”

UNESCO says bombing is a 'grave violation of the protection afforded to schools'

Besides, the UN education agency, UNESCO, condemned the attack in a post on X.

It said on March 1, “UNESCO is deeply alarmed by the impact of the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East on educational institutions, students, and education personnel. Initial reports indicate that an attack on a girls' primary school in Minab, southern Iran, has resulted in the deaths of over 100 individuals, including numerous students.”

“The killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning constitutes a grave violation of the protection afforded to schools under international humanitarian law. Attacks against educational institutions endanger students and teachers and undermine the right to education,” the post added.