Strike on Iranian primary school kills 85, authorities say

A joint US-Israeli military operation struck a primary school in southern Iran on Saturday, February 28, 2026, killing at least 85 people, mostly schoolgirls, according to Iranian authorities, as the two countries launched coordinated military action against Iran beginning in Tehran and expanding across the country. Mohammad Ashouri, governor of Hormozgan province, confirmed that Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in the coastal city of Minab was hit at 10:45am, with approximately 170 schoolgirls present at the time of the attack. Beyond the fatalities, 92 people were injured and an unspecified number remained trapped under rubble, raising fears that the death toll could rise further as rescue operations continued. State television broadcasted footage showing the devastated school with benches buried under debris, capturing emotional scenes of mothers screaming in the school courtyard as they awaited news of their children. The Islamic republic swiftly condemned the attack, describing it as an example of what it called US and Israeli atrocities. President Masoud Pezeshkian characterized the strike as 'savage' and 'inhumane,' while Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei explicitly labeled it a 'war crime.' Iran's Red Crescent reported a total of 201 people killed and 747 injured across 24 provinces on Saturday, though it did not specify how many of these were civilians. In Lamerd, another southern Iranian city, Governor Ali Alizadeh reported that four residential neighborhoods, including a sports hall, were targeted in the joint operation, resulting in at least 15 civilian deaths and numerous injuries. Amid the escalating violence, residents of Tehran received text messages urging evacuation of the capital, and roads leading to northern coastal cities along the Caspian Sea were converted to one-way routes as thousands fled fearing further residential building strikes. Neither the United States nor Israel has commented specifically on the reason for striking the school, though the US military acknowledged awareness of civilian casualty reports from its joint operation with Israel. 'We are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them,' stated Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command. The current conflict follows a similar June 2025 war between Iran and Israel that resulted in over 1,000 civilian deaths nationwide and extensive damage to more than 8,500 buildings in Tehran alone. The latest escalation has raised international concerns about the protection of civilian infrastructure, particularly educational facilities, amid rapidly deteriorating relations between Iran and the Western powers.