Experts Link US Tomahawk to Deadly Iran Strike as Trump Denies Role

The eyewitness footage, initially published by the Iranian agency Mehr News, was analysed by Trevor Ball, a former US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician. Ball identified the munition as a US-made Tomahawk missile, a weapon system utilised by the United States and not known to be part of the arsenals held by Iran or Israel.

Following a geolocation analysis, ABC News placed the impact point adjacent to the site of the fatal February 28 strike. That operation resulted in the destruction of several buildings linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as a nearby facility housing a school for girls.

Specialists, including Sam Lair of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, noted that the missile's dimensions and profile are consistent with the Tomahawk. In his assessment to ABC News, Lair stated, "I do believe this points towards US responsibility for the strike in the area."

Sharing this view, N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, remarked that the evidence "indicates it is a US strike". However, he cautioned that while the footage makes it more likely the US hit surrounding targets, it does not provide absolute certainty regarding the specific strike on the educational facility without physical fragments.

Responding to these allegations, US President Donald Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One on Saturday, flatly denied that the United States was responsible for the school bombing. Instead, he attributed the incident to Iranian tactical errors, stating, "Based on what I've seen that was done by Iran. We think it was done by Iran because they're very inaccurate as you know with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever."

While distancing the US from the civilian casualties at the school, Trump claimed a near-total degradation of Iran's strategic capabilities. He asserted that the US had "wiped out" the Iranian navy and air force, describing the military action as getting rid of a major "cancer" off the face of the earth.

According to the President, the US has also struck manufacturing areas and launchers to the point where Iranian missile output is "at about nine per cent of what they sent out in the first two days." He noted that 70 per cent of their rocket launchers have been "knocked out," making a continued Iranian response difficult.

Addressing the timeline of the conflict, Trump moved away from earlier six-week projections on Saturday, stating, "I never project time, whatever it takes." He maintained that the Iranian military is now "almost nonexistent," though he noted that a final determination on further strikes against remaining military assets has not yet been made.

- ANI