Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., voiced remorse Tuesday that the U.S. bombed a girls school in Iran at the start of military operations in the country last week.
Iran’s education ministry says about 175 people were killed in the strike, most of them schoolchildren.
"It was terrible. We made a mistake," Kennedy told reporters.
"Other countries do that sort of thing intentionally, like Russia."
"We would never do that intentionally," Kennedy added. "I think the department is investigating it now, and I'm sorry."
"I'm just so sorry it happened. It was a mistake."
Video verified by analysts appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile striking near the school, according to a Reuters review of the footage and satellite imagery.
The video shows a missile hitting near the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, in Iran's Hormozgan province, on Saturday, Feb. 28.
The location was confirmed by matching buildings, trees, utility poles, surrounding walls, and road layouts with satellite imagery.
Satellite images taken the morning of the strike showed buildings at the site still intact, helping investigators establish the timing of the hit. Smoke seen in the video before the impact appears to be rising from the direction of the school.
Two weapons experts said the missile visible in the footage appears to be a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile.
They said the weapon's shape and flight characteristics do not appear to match any other known cruise missile operated by countries involved in the conflict.
Reuters was unable to independently determine the intended target of the strike or whether the school itself was hit.
President Donald Trump said Monday he is unsure if the U.S. was responsible for the strike.
"I haven't seen it, and I will say that the Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is sold and used by other countries," he said at a press conference. "Whether it's Iran or somebody else … a Tomahawk is very generic."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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