Attack on Minab Primary School in Iran Triggers Investigation and Calls for Accountability
An airstrike struck Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, southern Iran, killing hundreds and triggering a wave of anger amid the escalation of the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel. The tragedy drew international attention due to the high civilian casualties, most of them children.
An official at a primary school contacted a mother with a terse but urgent text about her son. “The war has begun. Come and collect him,” she said.
The woman, who asked for anonymity, said she had just dropped her child at the school and could not return promptly because she was tending to a patient in her work as a midwife. Not long after, a powerful shock was felt. She rushed to the school.
But it was too late. Three air strikes hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, southern Iran. The Mayor of Minab said 168 people were killed in the incident, most of them children. Her son was among those killed.
“When we arrived, the whole school had collapsed onto the children. People were pulling at the arms and legs of the children. People were pulling out severed heads,” she told NBC News.
Four days after the incident, grief and anger continued to mount. The tragedy at the school became a symbol of rejection of the United States and Israel’s attacks. To date, no party has publicly admitted responsibility for the incident, the largest civilian casualty event since the war began.
Video and photographs released by state media showed thousands of mourners attending a mass funeral on Tuesday (3/3). Long lines of graves were being dug side by side to bury the victims.
The United States and Israel were reported to have attacked thousands of targets in Iran. According to Iran’s Red Crescent Society, nearly 800 people have died, including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran subsequently launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and a number of US-allied countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.
Six American military personnel were reported killed in the retaliation, along with 11 people in Israel. Dozens of other casualties were also reported as a result of Israel’s attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
When asked about civilian casualties, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US forces would not deliberately target schools, and added that “the Department of Defense will investigate if it was our attack.
” The United States Central Command said at the weekend it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties. Meanwhile, the Israeli military had not issued an official comment.
Officials in Minab and the mother said the school complex sat on the site of a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base that had been closed about 15 years ago, with all military personnel moved. Nevertheless, the school remained in operation. A 2011 satellite image showed the buildings within a single complex before later being separated by a fence.
Iran’s Ministry of Education spokesman Ali Farhadi said three strikes hit the school which has 264 students. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Saturday that the school was bombed in broad daylight, when it was full of young pupils.
“This crime against the people of Iran will not be left unpunished,” he said. (Fer/P-3)
A United Nations independent investigation into human rights abuses in Iran has strongly condemned the US-Israel attack against the country.
The US Embassy in Qatar urged American citizens in the Gulf country to leave the region immediately.
The DPR (House of Representatives) called on the government to guarantee the safety of all Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) in the Middle East following the US-Israel attack on Iran.
There is an expectation that Israel will continue bombing Iran for at least another two weeks, according to the latest information from the Israeli military.
Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed not to let the attacks launched by the US and Israel on Saturday (28/2) go unanswered.
The Turkish Defence Ministry, which recently said NATO defenses had intercepted ballistic missiles launched from Iran, made a related claim.
Sanchez said that the current crisis marks the onset of a great catastrophe for humanity.
At least 10 countries are involved in operations ranging from drone strikes to invasions, often several times a year.
Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pumps around 4.5% of global oil supply.