Earlier in March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States does not target civilians.
Iran has congratulated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on the birth of her daughter, but also used the occasion to criticise her over the February 28 strike on a school in Minab that killed more than 150 people, many of them children.
Leavitt on Thursday had announced the birth of her second child, a girl named Viviana. Leavitt posted a picture of herself in a nursery, cradling her baby daughter to her chest.
“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt, who at 28 is the youngest White House press secretary in history, said on X.
“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble,” she added.
Iran’s Congratulations And Criticism
Iran congratulated Leavitt on the birth of her daughter but also criticised her over the Minab school strike, saying the children killed in the attack were no different from her own.
“Congratulations to you. Children are innocent and lovable. Those 168 children that your boss killed in the school in Minab, and you justified, were also children. When you kiss your baby, think of the mothers of those children,” the Iranian Embassy in Armenia wrote on X.
‘US Does Not Target Civilians’
Seventy-three boys and 47 girls were killed in the February 28 strike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab, state broadcaster IRIB and local media reported.
The attack happened on the day the United States and Israel launched attacks across Iran. In retaliation, Tehran struck targets in Israel and Gulf nations.
Twenty-six teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and a pharmacy technician at the clinic next to the school were also killed, IRIB said in a Telegram post, news agency AFP reported.
Earlier in March, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States does not target civilians. “While the Department of War is currently investigating this matter, the Iranian regime targets civilians and children, not the United States of America,” Leavitt had said.
US Investigation
A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the elementary school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation The New York Times had reported.
US President Donald Trump initially suggested that Iran itself may have been responsible, despite Iran not having Tomahawk missiles.
Trump said on 7 March that in his “opinion,” Iran was to blame for the Minab strike, without providing evidence.
Days later, when asked about a video showing a US Tomahawk hitting the military base next to the school, he said, “I haven’t seen it” and claimed without evidence that Iran had Tomahawk missiles.
On March 11, when asked about reports that an initial military probe had found that the US hit the school, Trump had said, “I don’t know about it.”
(With inputs from agencies)
