U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 24 that it may never be known who was responsible for the February 28 airstrike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, that killed over 175 children and teachers on the opening day of the war against Iran. “I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem,” Trump told reporters, citing the chaos of missiles “flying all over the place” and stating he had seen no evidence to implicate U.S. forces.

The remarks represent a further walkback from his initial, evidence-free allegation that Iran itself was to blame. Reuters revealed in March that a preliminary U.S. military investigation had concluded American forces were likely at fault, possibly due to the use of outdated targeting data. The Pentagon has elevated the probe but has not publicly acknowledged those preliminary findings. The strike drew immediate global condemnation. The United Nations human rights office called it “absolutely horrific,” and legal experts note that deliberately attacking a school would amount to a war crime.

For the Global South, the unresolved case has deepened longstanding concerns over U.S. operational accountability and the fragility of civilian protections under international humanitarian law when powerful states launch cross-border attacks. Trump said he would accept the outcome of the investigation but maintained that “nobody” purposefully attacked the school. The absence of a transparent accounting four months after the tragedy leaves families and much of the world without closure, reinforcing perceptions of a justice deficit for victims of major-power military action.