'Over 100 kids died': Jason Crow slams Trump's excuse for deadly strikes in Iran

President Donald Trump on Wednesday brushed aside questions about the U.S. strikes that hit an Iranian school on the first day of the war, reportedly killing over 165 people, most of them children. Talking to reporters at the Group of 7 summit in France, Trump said, "Mistakes are made," and it was bizarre to get a question on the topic, as it was a "long time ago." His response drew sharp criticism with Democratic Representative Jason Crow saying, "Americans deserve answers & accountability." 

Over 100 days have passed since two airstrikes demolished the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. While the incident is still under investigation, U.S. officials have blamed the blunder on an intelligence error. At the press conference, Trump was asked whether he planned to hold anyone accountable for the attack on the girls' primary school. "No, if it was a foul, and as you know, that's under investigation," Trump said. "It's such a strange question to be asked at this stage because we're talking about a long time ago. Nobody did that on purpose," the President added. Sharing a clip of Trump's response, Crow wrote on X: "More than 100 kids were killed in a strike during this war. Donald Trump's response to it? 'Mistakes are made.'" 

Back in March, U.S. military officials privately acknowledged the strikes and blamed them on outdated intelligence, according to CNN. American forces carried out the strikes, and the school was located near a base used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy, and the school's location had originally been part of the base. The bombing of the elementary school quickly became a focal point of the conflict, and it could be among the highest civilian casualties caused by American military operations in the last two decades.

However, the U.S. officials have not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the deaths, and citing inside sources, the New York Times reported that the investigation into the matter is complete and awaiting sign-off from senior military leaders, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the White House. The timeline for the report's public release and whether anyone will lose their job remains unclear. 

Congress, which conducts oversight of the Pentagon, has yet to receive the Defense Department's report on the investigation, and Senators are trying to mount pressure on the department to release it. U.S. Senators this week moved to block Hegseth's travel funds until the Pentagon shares the findings of the investigation, along with several other overdue reports on the military operations, according to the Associated Press.

According to an annual defense authorization bill filed this week, much of the defense secretary's office will be prevented from expenditure until Hegseth submits "unredacted civilian harm investigations," including for the Feb. 28, 2026, strike on the Minab elementary school. Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said this year's annual defense package "forces the Secretary to be more accountable to Congress and will prevent many errors of the past from being repeated in the future."