Tehran: Iranian daily Tehran Times has published a front page featuring photographs of children killed in a bombing at a primary school in Minab, directly addressing U.S. President Donald Trump. The headline urged the American leader to look into the eyes of the victims, responding to his claim that Iran was responsible for the attack.
The front page, which displayed the faces of the children killed in the strike, circulated widely on social media and drew strong condemnation online over the incident.
Iranian authorities said at least 150 children were killed in the February 28 attack on an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. In an accompanying editorial, the newspaper accused Trump of making false allegations, avoiding responsibility for the attack and refusing diplomatic solutions.
Trump had earlier said that Iran was responsible for the bombing, arguing that Iranian weapons were involved and suggesting that their inaccuracy led to the tragedy.
The newspaper’s response came after a report by The New York Times concluded through its investigation that the U.S. military was responsible for the strike.
Separately, the Dutch fact-checking group Bellingcat said evidence indicated that a Tomahawk cruise missile — a weapon used by the United States — was deployed in the attack. The organisation released a brief video recorded on the day of the bombing and said its findings contradicted Trump’s claim that Iran carried out the strike.
Bellingcat researcher Trevor Ball said only the United States possesses Tomahawk missiles and noted that Israel is not known to have them. He described the evidence as the first indication that the United States carried out a strike in the area, contradicting the U.S. president’s claim that Iran was responsible for the incident.