U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it may never be known who was at fault for the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, casting doubt on accountability even as internal military investigations reportedly point to likely U.S. responsibility. The February 28 attack killed more than 175 students and teachers on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran.

“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place,” Trump told reporters. He added that he had “seen nothing to lead me to believe” a U.S. missile was responsible, despite initial findings disclosed by Reuters in March that U.S. forces were likely to blame, possibly because of outdated targeting data.

The Pentagon has elevated its probe but has not officially confirmed any preliminary conclusions. Deliberately striking a school would likely constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law. U.S. officials have publicly stated Washington would not intentionally target a school.

Trump initially blamed Iran without presenting evidence, then later said he lacked information and would accept the inquiry’s results, while insisting that “nobody” purposefully attacked the school. The UN human rights office described the incident as “absolutely horrific.”

For nations of the Global South, the episode underscores the challenge of holding powerful states accountable for civilian deaths in conflict. The absence of a definitive, transparent determination of fault risks normalising impunity for actions that may breach the laws of war, deepening mistrust in the international legal order.