Iran has accused the United States of carrying out a “calculated” attack on a school that left scores of children and teachers dead, intensifying global concern over civilian casualties in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Speaking via video address to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the February 28 strike on an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, describing it as a deliberate assault.
According to Araghchi, more than 175 students and teachers were killed in what he termed a “calculated, phased attack,” carried out on the first day of the war involving the United States and Israel.
“This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference,” he said, insisting that the incident constituted both a war crime and a crime against humanity.
The strike has become one of the most controversial incidents in the conflict, which began with coordinated U.S.-Israeli military operations targeting Iranian infrastructure, followed by retaliatory strikes by Tehran across Israel and parts of the Gulf region.
However, preliminary findings from a U.S. military investigation, reported by The New York Times, suggest the tragedy may have resulted from a targeting error. According to the report, a Tomahawk cruise missile struck the school after outdated data was used to identify a nearby Iranian military facility, which the school building had previously been associated with.
Despite this explanation, Iranian authorities have rejected the claim of a mistake. Araghchi argued that given the advanced precision of modern U.S. military systems, the attack could not reasonably be described as accidental.
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“At a time when the aggressors claim to possess the most advanced technologies, no one can believe this was anything other than intentional,” he said.
The minister also criticised what he described as inconsistent statements from Washington, including earlier remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Iran might have been responsible — a claim widely disputed given Iran’s lack of access to the missile system used.
The issue was raised during an urgent session of the Human Rights Council, where calls for accountability and an independent investigation are expected to intensify.
For families in Minab, the tragedy has left deep emotional scars, with grieving communities demanding justice for victims whose lives were cut short in the early hours of the conflict.
As the war continues, the incident underscores growing concerns over the humanitarian toll of modern warfare, particularly the risks faced by civilians caught in the crossfire.