WASHINGTON – Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday that an Iranian school destroyed by the United States military may have been harboring Iranian schoolchildren.
Speaking to reporters from the White House, Hegseth explained that the school had been razed as part of a coordinated strike designed to target key Iranian infrastructure and military sites.
“This was a high-value facility housing dozens, if not hundreds of elementary schoolgirls,” Hegseth said. “We had reason to believe that those little girls were plotting attacks on our brave American warfighters, and we took decisive action to make sure we completely incinerated as many of them as possible.”
Hegseth explained that, by serving as a staging ground for schoolgirls aged seven to 12 years, the school qualified as a legitimate wartime target. He further claimed that the school had been a military training site, teaching the now-obliterated children skills such as reading, writing and enriching uranium.
“Our goal in Iran has always been the same: to destroy its ability to wage war, develop nuclear weapons and learn multiplication,” Hegseth said. “It’s just another example of how the United States military stands ready to eliminate any emerging threat, as long as that threat is around four feet tall and wearing a backpack.”
Trump administration officials have signaled that the war in Iran could stretch on for weeks, and Hegseth said that the American armed forces would be ready to expand their operations into other age groups.
“If we need to move to burning down middle schools, our brave warriors are ready and willing to do just that,” he said. “We must send a message loud and clear: America’s enemies have nowhere to hide, no matter what grade they are in.”