Trump relied on unverified intelligence to blame Iran for deadly school strike

President Trump blamed Iran for a deadly strike on an elementary school based on an early US intelligence assessment that was almost immediately dismissed by analysts, according to sources familiar with the matter. The CIA initially suggested the missile was not a US munition because the fins appeared positioned too low for a Tomahawk cruise missile, but this assessment was quickly rejected by intelligence officials. Trump's public attribution to Iran proceeded despite this rapid reversal in the intelligence community's conclusion. The discrepancy raises questions about how the president's statements were shaped by preliminary and ultimately discredited intelligence analysis. The incident underscores tensions between initial intelligence assessments and their reliability when used to inform public statements by senior officials.