Sen. John Kennedy has said the U.S. is likely to blame for the deaths of scores of schoolchildren killed during a missile strike in Iran.
Speaking to CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt, the Louisiana Republican broke with Donald Trump’s suggestion that Iran may have been behind the Feb. 28 strike on the Shajareye Tayabeh girls’ school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, which reportedly killed at least 175 people, many of them children.
Reports suggest the school was struck by a U.S. Tomahawk missile, a weapon possessed by only a handful of countries worldwide, none of which are Iran or Israel. On Monday, Kennedy told NBC News he was “just so sorry” for the deaths of the 175 people but stressed he did not believe the school was struck intentionally.
Kennedy told CNN it was important for him to publicly apologize and acknowledge that the U.S. was likely responsible because he believes it is “the truth.”
“We’re investigating, but I’m not going to hide behind that. It was a terrible, terrible mistake. The investigation may prove me wrong—I hope so. The kids are still dead, but I think it was a horrible, horrible mistake,” Kennedy said.
“I wish it hadn’t happened. I’m sorry it happened. I can assure you it wasn’t intentional. That’s the sort of thing Russia does. We don’t do that. But, you know, I don’t see any other possible explanation. And when you make a mistake, you ought to admit it.”
Trump, however, is standing by his claim that Iran or “someone else” could have obtained a Tomahawk missile and struck the school on the first day of the U.S.-Israel war in the Middle Eastern country.
“The Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is sold and used by other countries,” Trump said at a press conference at his golf resort in Doral, Florida, on Monday.
Other countries believed to possess Tomahawk missiles include Britain, Australia, Japan, and the Netherlands, none of which are involved in the conflict in Iran.
When pressed Monday on why no one else in the administration appeared to support the theory that Iran could have carried out the strike—not even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—the 79-year-old president acknowledged that “I just don’t know enough about it.”
“I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation,” Trump said. “But Tomahawks are used by others, as you know. Numerous other nations have Tomahawks; they buy them from us.”
“Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” he added.
Elsewhere during his CNN appearance, Kennedy suggested the war in Iran could end within weeks and predicted Trump would not deploy “boots on the ground.”
“I don’t think I’m wrong on that, but if he does, the thud you hear will be me face-planting from surprise—from fainting—because I don’t think he would,” Kennedy added.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
