The combined US-Israeli military attack on an Iranian primary school has claimed 148 lives.
According to the Financial Times, Iranian authorities announced on Sunday that 148 people had died in a joint US-Israeli military hit on a southern Iranian primary school, the majority of them were schoolgirls.
As part of synchronized military actions against Iran, which started in Tehran and spread to other regions of the country, US and Israeli forces carried out the strike on Saturday. At around 10:45 a.m., Shajareh Tayebeh Primary School in the seaside city of Minab was struck, according to Hormozgan province Governor Muhammad Ashouri.
Around 170 schoolgirls were inside the building when the incident occurred, according to Ashouri, who also voiced optimism that rescuers would discover survivors under the debris.
The Minab judiciary said in a statement that 95 people had been hurt and 148 people had died.
Images of the demolished school building were shown on state television, with distressed mothers congregating in the courtyard and desks buried in rubble.
Iranian officials denounced the strike, calling it an act of aggression by Israel and the United States. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Esmail Baghaei described the attack as a “war crime,” while President Masoud Pezeshkian described it as “savage” and “inhumane.”
The strike’s cause has not been made public by Israel or the United States. Nonetheless, reports of civilian losses connected to the US military’s joint operation with Israel were accepted.
“We are aware of reports of ongoing military activities causing harm to civilians. Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, which is in charge of US military operations in the area, stated, “We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.”
“We will continue to take all necessary precautions to minimize the risk of unintended harm, as protecting civilians is of the utmost importance,” he continued.
Although it did not provide an overall civilian death figure, Iranian official television said that numerous civilians had been murdered throughout the country, calling the Minab school strike the bloodiest incident to date.
201 people were killed and 747 injured in 24 regions on Saturday, according to Iran’s Red Crescent, which did not say how many of the victims were civilians.
The joint operation targeted four residential neighborhoods in the southern Iranian city of Lamerd, including a sports facility, according to Ali Alizadeh, the governor of the region. At least 15 civilians were killed and many more were injured.
Details of many purported strikes in various Tehran districts have not yet been confirmed by Iran. Residents received a text message labeled “Iran” advising them to evacuate to safer locations and, if at all possible, escape the capital because of the ongoing joint US-Israeli operations against Tehran and other major cities.
As inhabitants try to evacuate out of concern that residential buildings may be hit, highways that connect Tehran to coastal regions along the Caspian Sea have reportedly been turned into one-way roads and are extremely crowded.
Iran than 8,500 buildings were damaged, 650 were entirely demolished, and Iran over 1,000 civilians were murdered nationwide during the June 2025 conflict with Israel, which was mostly focused on Tehran, according to officials.