Tragedy in Minab: 148 Killed in Strike on Iranian Girls’ Primary School
MINAB, IRAN — In what Iranian officials are calling the deadliest single incident since the outbreak of renewed hostilities, the death toll from a strike on a girls’ primary school in the southern coastal city of Minab has risen to 148, with at least 95 others wounded. The strike, which occurred during school hours on Saturday morning, has ignited international condemnation and intensified fears of a humanitarian catastrophe as the conflict between Iran and the US-Israeli alliance escalates across the Middle East .
The Attack: A School Day Turned to Rubble
At approximately 10:45 a.m. local time on February 28, 2026, the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab County, Hormozgan province, was directly hit in a joint US-Israeli military strike. According to Mohammad Ashouri, governor of Hormozgan province, nearly 170 schoolgirls were inside the building when the blast tore through the structure, causing widespread destruction and panic .
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The Minab judiciary later confirmed in a statement that 148 people had been killed and 95 injured. Local authorities have warned that the toll could rise further, as rescue workers continue searching through rubble for victims and several people remain unaccounted for .
State television broadcast harrowing images of the destroyed school, showing classrooms reduced to debris, with wooden desks and children’s books buried under concrete slabs. Distraught parents gathered outside the compound awaiting news of their children, with footage showing mothers screaming in the courtyard as emergency responders worked at the scene .
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A Second Strike: Clinic Bombed During Rescue Efforts
In a development that has compounded the tragedy, reports from local officials indicate that minutes after the initial bombing, a nearby clinic that had begun treating injured students and staff was also struck in what authorities described as a follow-up attack. The second strike further strained local emergency services and added to the casualty count, though precise figures from that incident remain unclear .
Rescue teams and medical personnel have been working under what officials described as extremely difficult conditions. Injured students and school staff were transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment, with emergency services ordered to mobilize additional resources. Hospitals in Hormozgan province are reportedly operating at capacity .
Broader Context: Nationwide Attacks and Casualties
The Minab school bombing occurred as part of what US President Donald Trump described as “major combat operations” against Iran, launched jointly with Israel on Saturday morning. The strikes targeted what Israeli officials said were Iran’s supreme leader, president, and head of the armed forces, with operations beginning in Tehran and expanding to multiple cities .
Iran’s Red Crescent has reported broader casualties nationwide, stating that 201 people were killed and 747 injured across 24 provinces during Saturday’s coordinated strikes. In Lamerd, southern Iran, Governor Ali Alizadeh reported that at least 15 civilians died after residential neighborhoods and a sports hall were targeted .
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed in the strikes, a development that has plunged the country into political uncertainty and triggered both mourning and celebrations among different segments of the population .
Official Condemnation: “A War Crime”
Iranian leaders have strongly condemned the Minab attack in the strongest terms. President Masoud Pezeshkian described the strike as “savage” and “inhumane,” referring to it as a “heart-rending tragedy” in an official statement. He expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims and the people of Minab, saying the incident had caused profound grief across the nation .
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei labeled the strike a “war crime,” while authorities described it as a blatant violation of international law and a crime against humanity .
In an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeed Iravani, stated: “The aggressors also attacked a school in the city of Minab, Hormozgan province, killing more than a hundred children.” He characterized the attack as a war crime against humanity and added that Israel and the United States had committed “unprovoked and deliberate aggression” .
US and Israeli Positions: Review Underway
Neither Washington nor Tel Aviv has publicly explained the specific targeting of the school in Minab. When asked about the strike, CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins issued a carefully worded statement: “We are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them. The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm” .
The Israeli military has not issued a specific response regarding the Minab incident. Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that its strikes in Tehran targeted locations where senior political and security figures were gathered, following months of planning .
International Reactions: Mixed Responses
The international community has responded with a spectrum of reactions to the broader conflict, though specific condemnation of the Minab school attack has been less pronounced amid the rapidly escalating crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the “unprovoked armed attack” by the United States and Israel on Iran and urged an immediate halt to the strikes . China expressed being “highly concerned” over the military strikes, stressing that Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected .
European leaders expressed concern. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “the outbreak of war between the United States, Israel, and Iran carries grave consequences for international peace and security,” calling for de-escalation . Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain “reject(s) the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which constitutes an escalation” .
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide questioned the legal justification, stating that “preventive attacks require an immediately imminent threat” .
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the military escalation, stating that “the use of force by the United States and Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace and security” .
Regional Impact: A Region on Edge
The Minab tragedy unfolds against a backdrop of region-wide instability. Iran launched retaliatory strikes toward Israel and US targets across the Middle East, with explosions reported in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. All flights in and out of Dubai’s two main airports were suspended indefinitely .
In Iran, the aftermath has revealed deep societal divisions. While state television showed thousands of mourners gathering in public squares in Tehran, Isfahan, and other cities waving regime flags and chanting “Death to America,” videos verified by CNN also showed crowds celebrating in the streets of Isfahan and Abdanan following news of Khamenei’s death, waving clothes and honking car horns .
The Human Toll: Stories Emerging
As rescue operations continued into Sunday, individual stories began emerging from the Minab tragedy. Local journalists reported that many of the victims were young girls, some as young as seven years old. The school, located in a working-class neighborhood of the coastal city, served families from the surrounding community .
One rescue worker, speaking to Iranian state media on condition of anonymity, described the scene: “We are removing small bodies from under the concrete. The classrooms collapsed like a house of cards. These were children sitting at their desks, learning their lessons one moment, and gone the next.”
Looking Forward: Accountability and Aftermath
The Minab school strike has now become a focal point of both domestic outrage and international scrutiny. Human rights organizations are calling for independent investigations, though access remains extremely limited as international news organizations are often refused visas to Iran, severely limiting their ability to gather independent information .
The incident raises profound questions about the conduct of modern warfare, the protection of civilians in conflict zones, and the adequacy of international humanitarian law to address the realities of 21st-century armed conflict. As the broader conflict continues to escalate, with no end in sight and both sides vowing further action, the children of Minab have become symbols of war’s most tragic and unacceptable cost.
The humanitarian consequences continue to unfold, with hospitals operating at capacity and emergency teams working around the clock. Iranian officials have called for international accountability and intervention, though with the UN Security Council deeply divided and major powers taking opposing sides, prospects for meaningful action remain uncertain .
With inputs from
CNN: Geolocated Minab school strike
NY Times: 85 confirmed dead Shajarah Tayyebeh
BBC: 108 killed 3 missile attacks
Guardian
Iranian authorities (death toll): Minab Judiciary
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