Conservative Firebrand Matt Schlapp Sparks Fury with 'Better Off Dead' Remark About Iranian Schoolgirls
In a shocking and deeply controversial statement, conservative commentator Matt Schlapp suggested that Iranian schoolgirls who perished in a devastating airstrike on their elementary school would be better off dead than alive and wearing burkas. Schlapp, who heads the influential Conservative Union advocacy group, made the incendiary remark during a heated appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday.
Heated Debate Over Deadly School Airstrike
The panel discussion centered on a tragic airstrike that struck an Iranian school on the first day of the conflict, February 28, killing at least 175 people, the majority of whom were young children. Conflicting reports have emerged regarding responsibility, with some sources attributing the attack to Israel and others suggesting it may have been an accidental misfire by Iran itself.
Peter Beinart, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents and a critic of the war, argued passionately that the girls would still be alive if the United States and Israel had not initiated the broader military campaign. "We don’t know who launched the missile," Beinart stated. "But we know that if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked a country that poses no serious threat to them... those girls would be alive."
Schlapp's Controversial Interjection
As Morgan began to respond to Beinart's points, Schlapp abruptly interrupted, declaring his belief that the deceased schoolgirls were in a preferable situation. "They’d be alive in a burka," Schlapp asserted. "This is… a barbaric society." His comments immediately drew condemnation for their callous nature and apparent factual inaccuracy regarding women's attire in Iran.
Schlapp, whose Conservative Union organizes the prominent annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), appeared to conflate Iran's mandatory hijab laws, which cover the head and neck, with the burka, a garment that covers the entire body and is not required in the country.
Unclear Origins of a National Tragedy
The airstrike on the school in the Iranian city of Minab represents one of the deadliest single incidents in the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Officials confirm that most victims were young children, but the precise reason for targeting the school and the identity of the nation responsible remain shrouded in uncertainty.
In a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the United States did not launch the airstrike "that we know of," adding that the "Department of War is investigating" the attack. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also addressed the tragedy, emphasizing, "We of course never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that."
Escalating Conflict and Iranian Retaliation Threats
As the conflict approaches its first week, the United States celebrated a significant military victory on Tuesday night by sinking an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 87 Iranian soldiers and marked the first combat sinking of a vessel by a US Navy submarine torpedo since World War Two.
Defense Secretary Hegseth indicated that the military is intensifying its bombing campaign against Iran, declaring America is "just getting started." In response, Iranian leadership has issued stern warnings and calls for retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denounced the warship attack as "an atrocity at sea" and warned on social media, "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set." In a rare and inflammatory statement, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli called for "the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump's blood," urging violence against former President Donald Trump and framing the conflict as a pivotal test for Iran.
