At least 165 people, including young school girls, were killed in an airstrike on a primary school in Iran, authorities have claimed.
State media reported that the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, was destroyed in an attack on Saturday during a joint US-Israeli bombing campaign. Neither the US nor Israel have claimed responsibility or confirmed that an attack took place.
Iran blamed the US and Israel, as the conflict spread across the Middle East. Iranian missiles hit targets in Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain over the weekend while Israel launched fresh attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
At least 555 people have been killed in Iran since the beginning of US-Israeli strikes over the weekend, according to state media, citing the Iranian Red Crescent.
The US has said it is looking into reports of the attack on the school, which has been condemned by Unesco as a “grave violation of humanitarian law”.
This picture, obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, shows the site of a strike on a girls' school in Minab, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, on 28 February 2026
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This picture, obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, shows the site of a strike on a girls' school in Minab, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, on 28 February 2026 (ISNA)
How did the missile strike happen?
Local authorities said the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school was struck by a missile in an attack in the city of Minab, southern Iran, on Saturday. Strikes in the area began around 10am IRST (6am GMT).
The school was situated just 200 ft away from a nearby naval base belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).
Footage circulating on social media showed that the building had been destroyed with remnants of school books seen among the rubble.
Initial reports claimed five fatalities after the strike, with the death toll later rising to 85. By Saturday evening, officials said that 108 students had been killed.
On Sunday evening, local prosecutors said the death toll had increased to 165 with a further 95 injured.
The Independent has been unable to verify the death toll from the strike, but Iranian human rights organisation Hengaw has said that the school’s total enrolment was 170 students. Iran runs on a six-day working week from Saturday to Thursday, with Friday being the only official day of rest. This means the school would have been occupied when it was hit.
How has Iran reacted?
Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned the airstrikes
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Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned the airstrikes (AP)
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the airstrikes in the Minab region and expressed condolences to families impacted.
“I share the heavy sorrow of the victims’ families, the noble people of Minab, and all of Iran, and I stand with them in this grief,” he said in a statement, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
“This savage act adds another black page to the record of countless crimes by the aggressors, a memory that will never be erased from our nation’s history,” he continued.
Mr Pezeshkian called on rescue, medical, and relevant authorities to offer “immediate and continuous assistance to the injured and the families of the fallen”.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said: “The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils. Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone. These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered.”
How has the world reacted to the strikes?
Humanitarian organisations have condemned the strikes and suggested they violate international law.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who has campaigned for the right of young girls to go to school, condemned the attack on social media: “They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short.
Malala Yousafzai condemned the attack
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Malala Yousafzai condemned the attack (AP)
“I am heartbroken and appalled by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, including reports that a girls’ school in southern Iran was hit, resulting in the injury and death of many girls. The killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable, and I condemn it unequivocally. My heart is with the children, families and communities affected by escalation across the region.
“I stand firmly against violence and the targeting of schools and civilians. I call for the escalation of violence across the region to end. Justice and accountability must follow. All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools.”
Unesco said it was “deeply alarmed by the impact of the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East on educational institutions, students, and education personnel”.
Smoke rises over Tehran following an attack
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Smoke rises over Tehran following an attack (AP)
They went on: “The killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning constitutes a grave violation of the protection afforded to schools under international humanitarian law. Attacks against educational institutions endanger students and teachers and undermine the right to education.
“In accordance with its mandate and with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2601 (2021), Unesco recalls the obligations of all parties to protect schools, students and education personnel.”
In a statement reported in US media, a spokesman for US Central Command, Tim Hawkins, said: “We take these reports seriously.
“The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm.”
Israel has not commented on the attacks.
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