‘Decimated their whole evil empire’: Is US responsible for Iran school bombing that killed 160? What Trump said

US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that the United States had eliminated the entire leadership in Iran, describing the actions as removing a major “cancer” from the face of the earth.

Trump made the remarks aboard Air Force One while en route to Miami. Reflecting on the week-long conflict, he asserted, "We're winning the war by a lot. We've decimated their whole evil empire. It'll continue I'm sure for a little while...The war itself is going unbelievably. It's as good as it can be."





He detailed the military achievements of the US in the conflict, saying, "We've wiped out their (Iranian) navy, 44 ships. We've wiped out their air force, every plane. We've wiped out most of their missiles. You see the missiles aren't coming much anymore. We've also hit their manufacturing areas where they make the missiles very hard. Their drone capacity is way down and we've hurt them where it hurts, including about every form of leadership you can have we've wiped out."

When asked about allegations that the US bombed an elementary girls’ school in Iran, Trump flatly denied responsibility and blamed Iran, saying, "No, I don't believe so. Based on what I've seen that was done by Iran. We think it was done by Iran because they're very inaccurate as you know with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran."




On the projected six-week timeline for military operations, Trump said, "I never project time, whatever it takes. But the (Iranian) military is almost nonexistent. We could hit their military itself very hard but maybe we will, maybe we won't, we haven't made that determination."

He added, "We've hit the manufacturing very hard. They're at about nine per cent of what they sent out in the first two days and we think that's because they don't have that much. We've also knocked out about 70 per cent of the rockets of the launchers. The launchers are a big deal, very hard to get, very expensive."



Regarding the possibility of a diplomatic resolution, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who was also on Air Force One, said a deal is possible. He said, "I think there is. I think that's going to be up to the President, that's what I think. But they didn't seem to be very amenable in that first set of negotiations. You heard what I said. They said we have the inalienable right to enrich. They bragged about having 60 percent enriched fuel enough for 11 bombs. And they told me and Jared, we're not going to give you diplomatically what you couldn't take militarily. So you know I think they're going to need a change of attitude."

These developments follow the joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures. In response, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and regional allies, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, escalating tensions across West Asia and increasing risks for civilians and expatriates.