Validating Trump’s claim that Iran possesses Tomahawk missiles

This article originally appeared on PolitiFact.

Speaking at a news conference on the 10th day of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump sidestepped questions about whether the United States was at fault for the deadly February 28 attack on an Iranian girls’ school.

He watches: Trump evades responsibility for the deadly attack on the Iranian girls’ school

Reporters pressed Trump twice about the strike, which video evidence showed was carried out by a Tomahawk cruise missile, an American-made weapon that can be launched from ships, submarines or land-based launchers at targets 1,000 miles away.

Iranian media reported that the air attack killed 175 people at the school, many of them children.

Trump twice refused to say that the United States struck Shajarat Taiba Elementary School, which was located near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility. Instead he raised the possibility that the Tomahawk missile was launched by another country, including Iran. Here’s the full exchange:

Reporter: “There is footage showing that a US missile strike and a Tomahawk missile likely destroyed the Iranian girls’ school. So… does the United States accept any responsibility for that strike?”

Trump: “Well, I haven’t seen it, and I will say that the tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons out there… is sold and used by other countries. And you know that. And whether it’s Iran, (which) also has some Tomahawks. They wish they had more. But whether it’s Iran or somebody else, the fact that the tomahawk – the tomahawk is a very generic type. It’s been sold to other countries. But that’s under investigation now.”

The exchange sparked a follow-up question.

Reporter: “Mr. President, you just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its elementary school on the first day of the war. But you are the only person in your government saying this. Not even your Secretary of Defense said that when asked while standing over your shoulder on your plane on Saturday. Why are you the only person saying this?”

Trump: “Because I don’t know enough about this. I think this is something I’ve been told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others, you know. Many other countries have Tomahawks – they buy them from us. But… whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”

Although a few countries, other than the United States, possess Tomahawk missiles, none of them are involved in the fight against Iran. Tomahawk cruise missiles are manufactured by the American company Raytheon, for use by the US military and international partners.

“The only other countries using Tomahawk missiles are Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands,” said Mark F. Cancian, a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank focused on national security. “Iran doesn’t have any, even though it has a lot of missiles of different types.”

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, agrees.

“Tehran does not have Tomahawk missiles, and Iranian cruise missiles are visually distinct,” Lewis said.

Likewise, N.R. Jenzen Jones, director of the intelligence firm Armament Research Services, told CNN that Iran does not possess Tomahawk missiles like those seen in the video of the strike.

It is also not known that Israel possesses Tomahawk missiles.

The White House did not respond to inquiries for this article.

He watches: A look at the evidence linking the United States to the Iranian school strike

In a March 10 speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Trump’s confirmation. Schumer said: “Iran does not have Tomahawk missiles, Donald Trump.” “The claim is beyond foolish.”

Republican lawmakers also expressed concern. Senator Kevin Cramer, a Democratic Republican, said that the United States “must certainly get to the bottom of the matter. We must admit if we know who made a mistake and do everything we can to eliminate those mistakes in the future.”

Officially, the incident remains under investigation at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said when asked aboard Air Force One about the strike on March 7.

Analysts from the investigative group Bellingcat and The New York Times watched the footage separately and concluded that the weapon was a tomahawk, about 20 feet long and with a wingspan of eight and a half feet.

A video released by US Central Command showed several Tomahawk missiles being launched from Navy ships on February 28, the day the school and nearby targets were struck.

Our rule

Asked about evidence showing that a Tomahawk missile hit an Iranian elementary school, Trump said that Iran “also has some Tomahawk missiles.”

Experts told PolitiFact that the only countries besides the United States that have Tomahawk missiles are Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands. Iran, Israel, or any combatant at that point in the war are also not known to possess Tomahawk missiles, and the White House has not provided evidence to support Trump’s statement.

We rate this claim false.