At Least 153 Dead After Reported Strike on School, Iran Says

Published: 2 March 2026
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

Iranian authorities say at least 153 people, mostly children, have been killed in a devastating strike on a school in southern Iran’s Minab during the first day of the ongoing joint U.S.-Israeli military offensive against Iranian targets. The reported death toll has rapidly risen as rescue teams continue to search through rubble and recover bodies, with state media and local officials depicting the event as a major civilian tragedy and a symbol of the conflict’s human cost.

The strike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Hormozgan province on Saturday morning, catching students, teachers and parents at the start of classes. Videos circulating online, which have been geolocated and verified by multiple independent outlets as showing the devastated school building, depict widespread destruction and rescue workers clearing debris amid scenes of distress.

Iran’s Health Ministry and local prosecutors have reported a rapidly rising casualty count as recovery efforts press on, with numbers including dozens of young girls who were inside the facility at the time. The attack occurred near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base, which previous reports suggest was targeted in the broader wave of strikes carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces.

The death toll figures vary among different sources and have not been independently verified due to restrictions on media access inside Iran, but state-reported numbers range from around 148 to 165 — a stark indication of the scale of loss being reported by Iranian officials.

Iran’s government has condemned the incident as a “barbaric act” and a violation of international humanitarian law, blaming U.S. and Israeli military operations. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokespeople and state media have called for global condemnation and action through international bodies such as the United Nations Security Council.

The United States military has acknowledged the reports of civilian casualties and stated it is investigating the situation, saying it takes such reports seriously and emphasises the protection of civilians, though neither the U.S. nor Israel has confirmed responsibility for the strike on the school. The Israel Defence Forces have stated that they were “not aware of any operations in the Minab area” at the time, according to reports.

The tragedy has drawn international attention and condemnation, with UNESCO expressing alarm over the impact on an educational institution and calling for respect for the protection of schools under humanitarian law. Observers warn the incident — whether intentional or due to misidentification of targets — underscores the severe risks to civilians in a conflict now spreading well beyond military objectives.

As conflicting narratives and casualty figures continue to circulate, the incident marks one of the deadliest reported civilian events since the escalation of hostilities earlier in the week, deepening global concern over the humanitarian toll of the expanding Middle East conflict.

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