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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
A Polish deputy foreign minister says that the strike on a school in Iran, which reportedly killed over 100 children, was likely caused by an Iranian missile, not an Israeli or American one.
He did not provide evidence to support the claim, which echoes the position of US President Donald Trump. However, a number of leading international media organisations have reported that the tragedy was probably the result of a American strike on the school.
.@WTBartoszewski: Izrael dokonuje zbrodni przeciwko ludzkości? Nie. Jeśli chodzi o tę szkołę [atak – red.], to akurat tak się składa, że nie izraelski pocisk ją zniszczył tylko irański, przypadkowo. Takie mamy informacje@RadioZET_NEWS #GośćRadiaZET @BogRymanowski
— Gość Radia ZET (@Gosc_RadiaZET) March 10, 2026
On 28 February, the first day of the ongoing US and Israeli strikes against Iran, a girls’ primary school in the city of Minab was destroyed after being hit by missiles. Iranian media claim that over 165 people were killed, most of them children aged seven to 12.
In an interview with broadcaster Radio Zet on Tuesday morning, deputy foreign minister Władysław T. Bartoszewski was asked if Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, are guilty of war crimes given the attack on the Iranian school and the destruction of 90% of hospitals in Gaza.
The deputy foreign minister responded by saying “no”, they are not guilty of war crimes. “Regarding the school, it just so happens that it was not an Israeli missile that destroyed it,” he added.
Asked if he was saying that it was an American missile, Bartoszewski said that it was in fact an Iranian one that had hit the school “accidentally”. Asked what evidence he had of this, the minister simply said “that’s the information we have,” but “it is difficult to be 100% certain without a proper investigation”.
Notes from Poland has asked the Polish foreign ministry for confirmation of its position on the issue and what evidence informed Bartoszewski’s position, which echoes that of Trump.
The US president told reporters last week that “based on what I’ve seen, [the strike on the school] was done by Iran”. He added that Iran is “very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever”.
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth, standing alongside Trump, did not confirm that position but said “we’re certainly investigating” what happened and that “the only side that targets civilians is Iran”.
"They have no accuracy whatsoever." Although an investigation is underway, President Trump is blaming Iran for the Feb. 28 bombing of an Iranian school that killed 175 people. pic.twitter.com/SIIIzdxlPs
— USA TODAY Video (@usatodayvideo) March 8, 2026
However, footage of strikes against an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base located next to the school indicates that they were carried out using Tomahawk missiles, which are produced and primarily used by the United States.
Wes J. Bryant, a former senior adviser on civilian harm at the Pentagon, told the New York Times that the school had probably been hit due to “target misidentification” during strikes on the IRGC compound.
Last Friday, Reuters reported, based on information from two unnamed US officials, that American investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for the strike on the school but have not yet reached a final conclusion.
US military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on February 28 but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation https://t.co/7PkajtDYp4
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 6, 2026
Speaking on Monday this week, Trump suggested that, even if Tomahawks had been used in the strike on the school, the missiles are also “used by other countries”. He even claimed that Iran “also has some Tomahawks”.
“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else, the fact that a Tomahawk – a Tomahawk, is very generic, it’s sold to other countries. But that’s being investigated right now,” said Trump.
Neither Iran nor Israel is known to posses Tomahawks. The UK, Australia and the Netherlands are known to use the missiles, but none of those countries have been involved in the ongoing strikes on Iran.
Q: Footage shows an American missile likely destroyed the Iranian girls' school. Will the U.S. accept any response
Trump: "I will say that the tomahawk is sold and used by other countries. And whether it's Iran who also has some tomahawks, they wish they had more, but whether… pic.twitter.com/vOShyNggtL
— Mona Salama (@ByMonaSalama) March 9, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Abbas Zakeri/Mehr/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
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