Iran on Thursday offered congratulations to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on the birth of her daughter, while simultaneously reminding her of a deadly US-backed strike on an Iranian school in Minab. The Iranian response urged Leavitt to "think of the mothers" of the children killed in that attack.
Leavitt Announces Birth
The remarks came days after Leavitt announced the birth of her second child, a girl named Viviana, in a post on X. Sharing a picture of herself holding her newborn daughter, Leavitt wrote, "On May 1st, Viviana aka 'Vivi' joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love." She added, "She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble."
Iran's Response
Iran later responded with a message that mixed congratulations with criticism over the Minab school strike. "Congratulations to you. Children are innocent and lovable. Those 168 children that your boss killed in the school in Minab, and you justified, were also children. When you kiss your baby, think of the mothers of those children," the Iranian Embassy in Armenia wrote on X.
The Minab School Attack
The bombing of an Iranian elementary school in Minab on Saturday killed at least 165 people and was linked to precision strikes carried out by US and Israeli forces on the first day of Operation Epic Fury. According to US media reports, the school building was damaged in a precision strike conducted at the same time as attacks on an adjacent naval base operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Leavitt's Earlier Defense
Earlier in March, Leavitt defended the US position and said the United States does not target civilians. "The Department of War is investigating this matter," Leavitt said. "And I would just tell you very strongly the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime that targets civilians, that kills children, that has killed thousands of their own people in the past several weeks and uses propaganda quite effectively, and unfortunately, many people in this room have fallen for that propaganda."
US President Donald Trump had initially suggested that Iran itself may have been responsible for the Minab strike.
