Middle East War: Iran names US officers behind lethal Minab faculty strike that killed 168 youngsters
Iran has publicly recognized two US Navy officers it holds accountable for a missile strike on a school in Minab that killed around 175 people, intensifying its accusations in opposition to Washington.
The Iranian embassy in India, South Africa and Nigeria on Sunday launched pictures of the officers and named them as Leigh R Tate, commanding officer, and Jeffrey E York, government officer of the USS Spruance. In a put up on X, the embassy alleged that the 2 officers authorised the launch of Tomahawk missiles on three events, resulting in the lethal strike on February 28.
“Remember these two criminals. Leigh R Tate, the commander, and Jeffrey E York, the executive officer of the USS Spruance, who ordered the launch of Tomahawk missiles three times, killing 168 innocent children at a school in Minab,” the Iranian Embassy in India mentioned in a put up on X.
Even the Iranian Embassy in South Africa shared the same put up on X questioning whether or not the 2 US officers had youngsters of their very own.
“Remember these two criminals. Leigh R. Tate, the commander, and Jeffrey E. York, the executive officer of the USS Spruance, who ordered the launch of Tomahawk missiles three times, killing 168 innocent children at a school in Minab. Don’t they have children of their own?” it wrote.
Similarly, the nation’s Embassy in Nigeria puzzled how these two US officers sleep at evening.
“Remember these two criminals: Leigh R. Tate and Jeffrey E. York. By ordering the launch of three Tomahawk missiles, they slaughtered 168 innocent schoolchildren in Minab. Do they have children of their own? Can they look them in the eyes? How do they sleep at night with this,” it mentioned.
Speaking throughout an pressing debate in Geneva just lately, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ School as a “calculated, phased assault” carried out on the primary day of the battle. He claimed greater than 175 college students and lecturers have been killed in what he termed a deliberate assault.
A US army investigation, nevertheless, has pointed to a potential error. According to a report by The New York Times, preliminary findings advised the strike might have resulted from outdated intelligence knowledge used to find out the goal coordinates.
The missile was reportedly meant for an Iranian army facility situated subsequent to the elementary faculty, which was beforehand a part of the identical advanced. Officials indicated that incorrect or outdated mapping knowledge might have led to the college being struck as a substitute.
US army authorities have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that key questions stay, together with why the intelligence inputs weren’t verified earlier than the strike.
Washington has maintained that it doesn’t goal civilian infrastructure and is reviewing the incident. President Donald Trump, in the meantime, has alleged that Iran might have been accountable for the strike, claiming Tehran’s munitions are sometimes inaccurate.
In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei shared video footage of the assault on social media, accusing the United States of committing a conflict crime.
The February 28 strike on Minab got here as US and Israeli forces carried out assaults on Iran, setting off a wider regional battle that has since unfold throughout the Middle East. In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes in opposition to Israel and targets throughout Gulf states, additional escalating tensions and deepening the disaster.
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