Photo: US President Donald Trump
A deadly strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran has triggered international condemnation after reports emerged that the attack may have been carried out by the United States during the early phase of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Iranian authorities said the strike hit a primary school in the port city of Minab in Hormozgan province, killing scores of schoolgirls and teachers and injuring many others. Officials put the death toll at more than 160, most of them girls aged between seven and twelve.
The attack occurred during a wave of coordinated air and missile strikes targeting Iranian military installations as tensions between Iran, Israel and the United States escalated sharply.
Witnesses said the explosion struck while classes were in session, sending debris and smoke across the school compound. Emergency workers and residents rushed to the scene to pull survivors from the rubble as distraught parents gathered outside the damaged building.
Questions over responsibility intensified after video footage circulated online showing what analysts believe to be a cruise missile striking a compound close to the school. Some investigators say the weapon appears to resemble a Tomahawk cruise missile, a system used by the U.S. military.
Officials in Washington have not confirmed responsibility for the strike but said an investigation is underway into the incident. U.S. authorities have repeatedly said their operations target military infrastructure and not civilian facilities.
Iran, however, has accused the United States of carrying out a deliberate attack on civilians and described the strike as a war crime. Iranian officials said the school had been operating for years and was clearly marked as an educational facility.
The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from international organisations and human rights groups, which have called for an independent investigation into the incident.
The United Nations expressed deep concern over the reported deaths of children and warned that attacks on schools and other civilian infrastructure could constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
The strike has become one of the most controversial incidents of the conflict, highlighting the growing civilian toll of the war between Iran and its adversaries.
Funerals for the victims drew large crowds in several Iranian cities, with mourners calling for justice and accountability as the war continues to widen across the region.
As investigations continue and competing claims emerge, the destruction of the Minab school has become a powerful symbol of the human cost of the escalating Middle East conflict.
