Iran wishes Karoline Leavitt on child's birth, says Minab school strike victims were no different from her daughter

Iran on Friday congratulated White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on the birth of her daughter, Viviana, but also reminded her of the Minab school strike, saying that the children killed in the attack were no different from her own child. The message urged Leavitt to think of the mothers of those children each time she kissed her baby.

Her second child was born on May 1, according to Leavitt's announcement on Thursday.

"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 said on X.

Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, known for her sharp rebukes of journalists, shared a photo from a nursery in which she held her newborn daughter close. Leavitt had said she would begin maternity leave on April 24.

However, her final appearance in the White House briefing room came on April 28, after an armed man attempted to force his way into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

"On May 1st, Viviana aka 'Vivi' joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love," Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in history, mentioned on X, adding, “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.”

Leavitt thanked everyone who had sent prayers and support during her pregnancy, saying she felt their presence throughout the experience and adding that God had been good.

The situation mirrored the birth of her son, Nicholas, in the summer of 2024, when she resumed work on Trump’s campaign only days after an assassination attempt on the then-Republican candidate in Butler.

The White House has not announced a formal replacement for Leavitt during her leave, though Marco Rubio filled in at the podium earlier this week and drew favorable reactions for his relaxed and confident briefing-room debut.

State broadcaster IRIB and other local outlets reported that the February 28 attack on an elementary school killed 73 boys and 47 girls.

The strike took place the same day the United States and Israel began military operations across Iran. Tehran later responded by targeting sites in Israel and several Gulf countries.

IRIB said in a post on Telegram that the victims also included 26 teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver and a pharmacy technician who worked at a clinic adjacent to the school.

The revised figures bring the total number of deaths to 155, lower than the earlier estimate of more than 175, as per AFP.

According to preliminary findings from a US military investigation cited by The New York Times, the elementary school was struck by a Tomahawk cruise missile after it was mistakenly identified as a target.

Trump initially suggested that Iran might have been responsible for the attack, even though Tehran does not possess Tomahawk missiles.

In a video message to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Abbas Araghchi described the strike as a “calculated, phased assault.”

Araghchi mentioned that "at a time when the American-Israeli aggressors, in their own assertions, possess the most advanced technologies, and the highest-precision military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on the school was anything other than deliberate and intentional".