A strike on an Iranian elementary school is rattling allies, and Meloni just said what others would not

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sharply condemned the recent strike on an Iranian elementary school, a response that is drawing attention across Europe. As reported by The Hill, Meloni called the incident a “massacre” and said it fell “outside the scope of international law” during a speech before Parliament in Rome.

Meloni also expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and called for those responsible to be identified quickly. Her remarks came after the February 28 strike hit an all-girls elementary school in Minab in southern Iran.

A preliminary military investigation found that 175 people were killed in the missile strike. Officials familiar with the findings said the attack was caused by a U.S. military targeting error, though the Pentagon declined to comment and said the incident remains under investigation.

European criticism is becoming harder to ignore

President Trump, who had previously blamed the Iranian regime for the attack, told reporters on Wednesday that he was unaware of reports suggesting the U.S. was behind the strike. The apparent contradiction adds to the uncertainty surrounding the investigation and the broader fallout from the incident, amid Israeli comments on Tehran.

Meloni is not the only European leader publicly criticizing the strikes as the conflict enters its second week. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said there appeared to be “no common plan for bringing this war to a swift and convincing conclusion,” while he, along with the leaders of France and the United Kingdom, signed a joint letter urging the U.S. and Iran to stop military operations and return to negotiations.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also emerged as one of the strongest critics of the strikes in the Middle East. In a televised address last week, he said Spain would not be “complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” as tensions over the region continued amid Pakistan’s oil-route move .