‘It’s Important’: GOP Senator Praised for Apologizing for US Bombing Elementary School in Iran

Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) received widespread praise this week after he apologized while acknowledging on Monday that the U.S. bombed a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing 168 people – mostly children.

NBC News’ Sahil Kapur spoke to Kennedy on Monday evening. “It was terrible. We made a mistake,” Kennedy told Kapur when asked about the bombing on the school. “Other countries do that sort of thing intentionally, like Russia. We would never do that intentionally. I think the department is investigating it now, and I’m sorry. I’m just so sorry it happened. It was a mistake.”

Late last week, President Donald Trump was asked if the U.S. bombed the school, and he replied, “No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” On Monday, Trump changed his answer to saying, “I just don’t know enough about it. I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation.”

“But Tomahawks are used by others, as you know. Numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us, but I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” he added when pressed on the topic.

Kennedy’s empathetic and forthright answer won him praise from across the political spectrum, including from Democrats in the Senate. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) shared Kapur’s reporting and wrote, “I think it’s important a handful of Republican Senators (and it’s just a handful) are saying things like this. But as immoral as bombing an elementary school is, it’s just as wrong that Trump is pretending it didn’t happen.”

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