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White House evades responsibility for strike on Iranian girls’ school
Karoline Leavitt batted down a question from a reporter about the US involvement in a strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school, which killed 175 people.
The press secretary did not accept US responsibility for the attack, and noted that the Pentagon is investigating the strike (as Pete Hegseth said earlier).
“I would just tell you very strongly, the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime,” Leavitt said. “I would caution you from pointing the finger at the United States of America when it comes to targeting civilians, because that’s not something that these armed forces do.”
Key events
Anna Betts
At the press briefing on Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt said that Donald Trump plans to attend the ‘dignified transfer’ of the bodies of the six US service members who have been killed since the war with Iran began.
“We grieve for these American patriots and their families as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives, President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families” she said. “I understand the Department of War is working on scheduling this transfer, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
White House evades responsibility for strike on Iranian girls’ school
Karoline Leavitt batted down a question from a reporter about the US involvement in a strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school, which killed 175 people.
The press secretary did not accept US responsibility for the attack, and noted that the Pentagon is investigating the strike (as Pete Hegseth said earlier).
“I would just tell you very strongly, the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime,” Leavitt said. “I would caution you from pointing the finger at the United States of America when it comes to targeting civilians, because that’s not something that these armed forces do.”
Leavitt says Trump had ‘good feeling’ Iran was going to strike US
Leavitt said that while a reported phone call between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump about Ayotollah Ali Khamenei’s whereabouts was “important”, she doubled down on the president’s claim that he “had a good feeling that the Iranian regime was going to strike the United States assets and our personnel in the region”.
The press secretary added that while Khamenei’s location “had an impact on the timeline of the operation” it was “not quite the president’s decision in its entirety”.
Leavitt accused members of the media of “misreporting and intellectual dishonesty” when explaining why Donald Trump decided initiate Operation Epic Fury.
The administration has put out conflicting accounts about the lead-up to the initial attacks on Saturday. While the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that an imminent strike from Israel precipitated pre-emptive action from the US. However, the president said on Tuesday that, “if anything”, he forced Israel’s hand to strike, and rejected any claims that he was pressured by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Leavitt lavishes praise on Trump, touts success of Operation Epic Fury
In her opening remarks on the fourth day of the US-Israel war on Iran, Donald Trump’s press secretary lavished praise on the president.
“President Trump is holding these monsters accountable and permanently extinguishing their nuclear ambitions,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “Future generations of Americans will look to this moment as the moment where the specter of a nuclear armed Iran ended at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury launched last weekend.”
Leavitt also repeated comments by the defense secretary just hours ago that the US has significantly degraded the Iranian navy.
“So far, we have destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, including their top submarine, last night using a torpedo,” she said. “It’s safe to say that thus far, operation, Epic Fury has been a resounding success.”
Vivian Ho
US Central Command has said that US forces have “struck or sunk to the bottom of the ocean” more than 20 Iranian ships.
“Last night, CENTCOM added a Soleimani-class warship to the list,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
In another statement on Wednesday, US Central Command said that “US forces continue to aggressively hunt and destroy Iranian missile launchers with precision”.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is due to hold a briefing for reporters shortly.
We can expect questions about the US-Israel war on Iran and the deadly strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed more than 160 people.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth evaded questions about the attack during his press conference earlier, and repeated the administration’s stance that the conflict could drag on as long as the president deems necessary. A reminder that later today, the Senate will vote on a war powers resolution to curb Donald Trump’s military action in Iran. However, Democrats are unlikely to achieve the votes needed for it to advance.
We will have a live feed at the top of this blog and will bring you the latest updates as we get them.
Fran Lawther
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has criticized the Trump administration’s “chaos and incompetence” in its efforts to to help Americans stranded in the Middle East return to the United States.
The state department said on Wednesday that 8,500 Americans returned on Tuesday. But hundreds are still thought to be in the region as the US-Israel war on Iran intensifies. A statement on the state department website says officials will “actively assist” any Americans who wish to leave the Middle East.
But Schumer blasted those efforts as too little, too late. Writing on X on Wednesday, he said:
Hundreds of Americans, including many New Yorkers, are stranded across the Middle East, and the state department’s message is basically ‘good luck.’ Evacuation warnings were issued three days into the war, with airspace shut down and no U.S. government flights in place. This is what happens when you recklessly gut the State Department under DOGE and rush into a war with no plan. Zero planning, zero strategy, and now Americans are paying the price.
Cate Brown
The US airstrike on an Iranian warship that killed more than 80 crew members is illegal, according to Wes Bryant, a former US air force special operations targeting expert and former chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon.
The Iris Dena, a 1.5-ton warship bearing Iranian missiles, was reportedly transiting home after participating in training exercises hosted by the Indian navy at the time of the strike, according to Indian press. India had convened naval assets from 74 countries for a March exercise.
“Was that warship actively posing a threat or participating in hostilities?” asked Bryant. “You cannot say that this warship was an imminent threat to anyone. By targeting it, is the Trump administration saying that the imminent threat is all of Iran’s government and military?”
“If so, that’s an incredibly dangerous example of military overreach,” Bryant said.
The bigger picture is that lawyers have said that the US operations against Iran are patently illegal, and several have raised concerns about the broader conflict that US aggression has kicked off.
“I’m holding Trump responsible, not just for US military strikes, but for the foreseeable consequences of launching these attacks,” said Brian Finucane, a former state department lawyer. “It was not only foreseeable, but it was also widely predicted that Iran would respond … That’s why aggression is a crime under international law. ”
House ethics committee opens investigation into Tony Gonzales
The House ethics committee announced today that it will open an investigation into Texas congressman Tony Gonzales, following accusations that he had an extramarital affair with an aide in his office.
In a statement, the committee said it would examine whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct or discriminated unfairly by “dispensing special favors or privileges”.
Last month, the San Antonio Express-News reported that it had obtained text messages in which former staffer Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, 35, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with Gonzales.
Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September last year, after she set herself on fire in the back yard of her home in Uvalde, Texas.
Gonzales is now facing a runoff in the Republican primary race for his district after he failed to secure 50% of the vote, amid the allegations of his affair. He’ll now face Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube personality, again in May.
During a particularly tense exchange with ranking member Jamie Raskin, the homeland security secretary once again refused to retract her comments calling the two US citizens shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis “domestic terrorists”.
“You told a lie about them,” the top Democratic on the judiciary committee said, while Noem offered her condolences to Renee Good’s and Alex Pretti’s families. She also noted that their are “ongoing investigations” into their deaths.
“You stated the conclusion two hours after they were killed,” Raskin said. “I wanted to give you an opportunity to correct the record, not just for their family, but for everybody in America who believes in the truth and fairness and honesty in every situation.”
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, is back on Capitol Hill today, this time for a hearing before the House judiciary committee.
She’s answering questions from lawmakers, a day after she refused to retract or apologize for her comments branding Renee Good and Alex Pretti “domestic terrorists”, after they were fatally shot by federal immigration officers.
One quick note, while responding to a line of questioning by Tom McClintock, Noem said that “70% of those in our detention centers have criminal records, roughly over half a million”.
However, a Guardian analysis that ranking member Jamie Raskin just entered into the record shows that 77% of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction.
The latest data collated by the Guardian also finds that 24,500 people in immigration detention have no criminal record as of 7 February 2026. This is the single largest group among the 68,290 people currently detained.
Jasmine Crockett concedes to James Talarico after he secures Democratic Senate nomination in Texas
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett conceded to James Talarico this morning, after the state representative secured the Democratic Senate nomination in Texas. Crockett said that she called Talarico to congratulate him.
“Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” she said. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track. With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win.”
Crockett added that she is “committed” to working to elect Democrats “up and down the ballot”.
Senate to vote on war powers resolution to prevent Trump from continuing Iran conflict
Chris Stein
Senate Republicans are on Wednesday expected to vote down a Democratic-backed war powers resolution that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran, with John Thune, the majority leader, arguing the president is “acting in the best interest of the nation”.
Democrats have condemned Trump for ordering an air campaign against Iran without first seeking permission from Congress, while offering shifting explanations of its objectives. The war powers resolution introduced by Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, would force an end to US participation in the current hostilities and require the president to go to Congress before re-entering the war.
The resolution will require 50 votes to advance. Democrats control 47 seats, but John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania senator, said he will oppose the resolution, meaning they’ll need at least five Republicans to join with them for it to succeed.
The odds of that happening dimmed on Tuesday when Thune told reporters he believes Trump has the proper authorization for the campaign, which the US military is carrying out alongside Israel.
“The president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently under way there,” Thune replied at a Tuesday press conference, when asked if Trump should at some point seek congressional approval to continue the conflict.
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