The chairman of the American Conservative Union is defending lethal airstrikes that killed scores of Iranian schoolgirls over the weekend, acknowledging they would still be alive if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked Iran — but arguing they would “be alive in a burqa.”

Matt Schlapp made the staggering comment during Wednesday’s episode of “Piers Morgan: Uncensored,” where discussion of the now-ongoing Iran war eventually turned to the airstrikes on a girls school that killed up to 175 people Saturday, mostly children under 12.

The subject was raised by panelist Peter Beinart, journalist and editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, after Morgan criticized Iran for launching strikes at surrounding Gulf States after President Donald Trump and his administration preemptively bombed Iran on Saturday.

“I would like you Piers, if you could, to get one of the parents of those 175 children who were killed in that school that the United States or Israel bombed in southern Iran, and ask people who support this war, to say to them, that this was worth it,” said Beinart.

This led Morgan to contend that it isn’t clear which nation launched the missile that struck the school.

“Piers, even if it was an Iranian missile that was fired in response to the attack from Israel and the United States, right, even if it was an Iranian missile, those girls would still be alive today if the United States and Israel had not launched the attack,” Beinart replied.

He said, “So you are right, we don’t know who launched the missile, but we know that if the U.S. and Israel had not attacked a country that poses no serious threat to them — Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons, America has thousands — that those girls would be alive.”

That’s when Schlapp interjected: “They’d be alive in a burqa.”

The right-wing panelist had interrupted Morgan to make the callous remark. The rest of his comments were largely drowned out by repeated objections from the host to let him finish, but Schlapp went on to audibly slam Iran as “a barbaric society” before Morgan continued.

Critics have slammed Schlapp for making no distinction between the Iranian regime and its people, and for failing to realize that women in Iran generally wear hijabs, and not burqas.

Schlapp, whose organization runs the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), was accused in 2023 of sexual misconduct by GOP strategist Carlton Huffman, who claimed Schlapp had “groped” and “fondled” his groin without consent, which Schlapp denied.

Huffman eventually dropped his lawsuit, but Schlapp was previously accused of trying to kiss a CPAC staffer without consent in 2017 and making unwanted advances on another person in 2022 during a CPAC business trip, The Washington Post reported in 2023.

Beinart argued Wednesday that war with Iran is costly and unnecessary as so many Americans can’t even afford “the basic necessities of life” while “billions and billions of dollars” are being spent to attack a country that “poses no threat to the United States.”

“You think you can go to the American people who can see that this country has desperate [needs] — we don’t give our people health care, we have a deteriorating infrastructure, people are suffering — and say, ‘This is the best of our money?’”

Schlapp has been widely condemned by critics on social media for his offensive comment.

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