Trump news at a glance: Pentagon ‘taking a look’ at deadly strike on girls’ school in Iran as UN office demands answers | Trump administration
Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, offered few details and was evasive when asked about the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran, saying only that the US was “investigating” the incident. Iranian officials say the attack, which happened on Saturday, killed at least 165 students.
“All I can say is we’re investigating that,” Hegseth said when asked about the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab. “We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”
The school was struck on the first day of US and Israeli attacks on Iran. In addition to the many killed, Iranian state media also reported that 96 others were injured, many of them students attending classes at the Shajareh Tayyebeh school.
On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights office called on what it described as “the forces behind a deadly attack on a girls’ school in Iran” to conduct an investigation and provide information about the incident, though it did not identify who it believed was responsible.
Hegseth also confirmed on Wednesday that a US submarine was behind the deadly strike on an Iranian frigate that killed more than 80 people, as it was sailing close to the Sri Lankan coast.
The US will have complete, uncontested control of Iranian airspace within days, the Pentagon chief declared.
“We are just getting started,” Hegseth said. “We are accelerating, not decelerating.”
Pete Hegseth says US is ‘investigating’ deadly strike on girls’ school in Iran
The UN committee on the rights of the child said in a statement: “The committee is alarmed by reports of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, which have injured and traumatised children, and claimed many young lives.” Children must be protected from war, the committee added.
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Senate votes down resolution to prevent Trump from continuing war with Iran
Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted down an attempt to require Donald Trump receive Congress’s permission before continuing the war with Iran, batting aside concerns from Democrats that the campaign is illegal and risks plunging the United States into a prolonged conflict.
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US burning through interceptors to shoot down Iranian drones, say officials
Top military officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday that the US was rapidly depleting its supply of defensive missile interceptors to shoot down Iranian attack drones, even as the Trump administration has publicly dismissed those concerns.
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Canadian PM Mark Carney offers to team up with Australia as ‘strategic cousins’ to push back against dominant superpowers
Canada and Australia will be stronger negotiating together with superpowers including Donald Trump’s America, acting as “strategic cousins” rather than competitors, Mark Carney has told the Australian federal parliament.
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Trump administration’s bid to halt New York City congestion toll blocked in court
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to halt New York’s first-in-the-country congestion fee meant to reduce traffic and pump revenue into the region’s ageing transit system.
Lewis Liman, a US district judge, on Tuesday ruled that the US Department of Transportation lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 toll, which was initially greenlit by Joe Biden.
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What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened Tuesday 3 March.
