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2026 Minab school airstrike
Part of the 2026 Iran war
Rescue workers and bystanders at the school after the attack
Location of the school within the Hormozgan province
Location	27°6′35.4″N 57°5′05.1″E / 27.109833°N 57.084750°E / 27.109833; 57.084750 Shajareh Tayyebeh school Minab, Hormozgan province, Iran
Date	28 February 2026 (2026-02-28) 10:45 a.m. IRST (UTC+03:30)
Attack type	Airstrike
Deaths	165-180[1] (according to Iran)
Injured	95 (according to Iran)
Victims	Primarily female schoolchildren
Accused	Israel Defense Forces  United States Armed Forces

On 28 February 2026, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province in southern Iran was destroyed during the school day, reportedly by a missile, during the first day of the 2026 Iran war. According to Iranian state media, 165–180 people were killed, the majority of whom were schoolchildren.^[1][2][3] The attack was the single most deadly airstrike in the ongoing bombing campaign.^[4][5]

The exact number of people killed has not yet been independently confirmed but video footage of the destroyed school was verified by multiple sources.^[6][7] The attack was condemned by the Iranian government^[8] and UNESCO.^[9]

In early 2026, amidst negotiations between Iran and the US mediated by Oman, the United States began a military buildup near Iran. On 28 February 2026, attacks were launched by the US and Israel against Iran.^[10]

According to locals, the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab was a former military facility converted into an all-girls elementary school.^[11] At the time of the airstrikes, the school was located approximately 600 metres (660 yd) away from the Sayyid al-Shuhada military complex which includes the headquarters of the Asif Brigade of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.^{[4][12][13][14]} According to satellite imagery, the building in which the school was housed was initially walled within the IRGC compound in 2013 but was then walled off by September 2016.^[4] Al Jazeera stated that the school that "had been separated from the military complex and had become a clearly defined civilian institution for more than 10 years".^[14] The Guardian determined there was no indication it served a military purpose and found that the compound buildings adjacent to the school were a medical clinic and a pharmacy,^[5] the former of which was walled off from the compound between 2022 and 2023.^[15] An investigation by the CBC found the school was struck as part of "a precision airstrike on a military complex immediately adjacent to the building." The CBC report stated that the school building "was once part of" the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base that was targeted.^[16] NBC News said that according to Minab's mayor and a mother of one the school's students, the school facility was built on an IRGC base which had been closed around 15 years ago with all military personnel moved at the time and the school being the only operational facility at the former base.^[17]

According to Iranian state media, amid the 28 February airstrikes across Iran, the Shajareh Tayyebeh school was struck by a missile.^[18] The airstrikes, which began at around 10:00 a.m. local time, coincided with the time at which Iranians usually send their children to school, as Saturday is a working day in Iran.^[19][5] The impact instantaneously killed dozens inside.^[5] Human rights organization Hengaw stated that around 170 students were present in the school at the time while the Iranian Ministry of Education said that 264 students were present,^[19][17] among them mostly girls between seven and 12 years old.^[20] Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations representative, Shiva Amelirad, said the school had decided to close soon after the airstrikes began, however parents were not able to reach the school before the airstrike landed on the compound.^[11]

The school was struck at some time between 10:00 and 10:45 a.m.^[5][21] as classes were changing periods in the school. The impact impacted over half of the structure, destroying the walls of the building and causing its roof to collapse, burying people underneath;^[19][20] graphic footage shows some bodies partly trapped.^[5] The explosion destroyed at least half of the two-story school building.^[4] According to Minab's mayor and the Iranian Ministry of Education, the school was struck three times in total.^[17]

On 1 March, BBC Persian and Kashmir Observer published accounts of a clinic struck in the same location, which the former characterized as "what appeared to be a second attack on the same location" and the latter as a "follow-up attack", with the latter citing local officials.^[22][23] The New York Times corroborated that smoke was billowing from two buildings;^[4] footage shows smoke coming out of the school's windows, whose muraled walls were adorned with paintings of crayons, children, and an apple.^[24] Experts confirmed that there were other nearby strike points as well.^[15]

While the Iranian government said the missile was a US-Israeli airstrike, Vice Governor of Hormozgan Ahmad Nafisi said the school was struck amidst US-Israeli air raids on Minab.^[25] The school was reportedly located near an IRGC base which had been the target of another US-Israeli airstrike the same day.^{[14][12][18][19]} Videos taken of the destroyed school immediately following the attack were verified by The New York Times,^[19] The Washington Post,^[7] Reuters, and Iranian fact-checking organization Factnameh, as authentic; these videos were compared against existing imagery of the school.^[18] Drop Site News published accounts of the incident from several parents whose children were among those killed.^[13]

The death toll, reported as 165–180 by Iranian state media, and 95 injured, has not been independently confirmed.^[1][2][17] A majority of those reportedly killed were schoolchildren,^[1][2][3] but included teachers.^[11] The state-run ISNA news agency reported that the school principal was killed in the strike.^[5] Many of the victims were schoolgirls between the ages of 7 and 12, some of whom were trapped under the rubble. According to a local official, among the dead, in addition to the children, were the students' parents and school staff.^[13][20][5]

On 1 March, the day the search for survivors stopped, Shiva Amelirad, representing the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, told TIME magazine that 108 or more children had been killed in the attack, according to sources within Minab she was in contact with. Minab's public prosecutor office reported later that day, through the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), that 150 "innocent school girls" were killed, with some still trapped under the rubble.^[11]

Following the attack, Israeli and Iranian pro-Monarchist opposition pages began disseminating information that the airstrike was a failed IRGC interception. These claims originated from associated Telegram channels and were debunked.^[26][14] It was also falsely claimed on the social media website X that the IRGC had admitted to mistakenly destroying the school in a missile airstrike, despite the fact that no such statement admitting responsibility had been made by the Iranian state.^[27] Other social media accounts claimed the footage was supposedly old footage shot in Pakistan, which has been debunked.^[5]

As reports emerged that the school had been hit, many panicked locals, including family members of victims, rushed to the scene while security forces attempted to push families back, fearing the area would be targeted again, and sealed off the building.^[13] Soon after, recovery efforts began—some informal—as civilians and Iranian Red Crescent Society emergency workers searched through the debris.^[4] Although initially using just their hands,^[13] rescue services used construction cranes and shovels to save people trapped by rubble,^[19] while black smoke scorching the remaining walls continued to pour from the building's windows.^[11][28] Footage reveals items including severed arms,^[4] bodies, and school bags being recovered.^[28][29] One video shows a man, previously digging through the rubble, waving dust-covered textbooks and worksheets; in a quote translated by The Guardian, he yelled:^[5]

"These are the schoolbooks of the children who are under these ruins, under this rubble here," he shouts. "You can see the blood of these children on these books. These are civilians, who are not in the military. This was a school and they came to study."^[5]

Corpses were collected in body bags and injured victims taken away in ambulances.^[4] Later in the day of the airstrike, bodies of the victims were transferred to their relatives gathering at a nearby designated collection area.^[13] The attack flooded Minab's morgues, however, forcing some of the bodies of victims to be held in refrigerated trucks.^[11] The search for victims ended on 1 March.^[4]

On 3 March, Iran held a mass funeral for the children killed in a public square in Minab, attended by thousands of mourners. Those in attendance held imagery of the attack and phrases condemning what one victim's mother called "a document of American crimes."^[30][31] Images show excavators preparing a hundred or more graves at a mass burial site.^[24][17]

President Masoud Pezeshkian said that "the American and Zionist aggression against Minab Elementary School will never be erased from the historical memory of our nation."^[8] The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran called the airstrike a "blatant crime," adding that "the world must stand up to this great injustice," including "the UN Security Council [which] must act now in line with its primary responsibility under the Charter."^[33] Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the "crimes against the Iranian people will not go unanswered."^[13] The spokesperson for Iran's Health Ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, called the report of the attack "the most bitter news" so far, adding that there may be even more bodies under the rubble.^[18]

On 1 March, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations raised the "unjustifiable" and "criminal" issue with UN human rights chief, Volker Türk,^[31][34] which Türk heeded.^[24]

The head of Iran's Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, said the "unique and bitter incident" had "no comparison with any other incident" even outside of Iran, as he said no singular attack killed so many students simultaneously, "even in Gaza."^[4]

Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the United States Central Command said on 1 March that "we are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them. The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm."^[4][19] On 4 March, US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the US Department of Defense and The Pentagon were investigating whether the airstrike was fired by the US and added that the US "would not deliberately target a school."^[30][31][24] The same day, US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, evaded questions on the matter and provided few details other than to echo Rubio in saying that the US was "investigating" the incident and would "never target civilian targets."^[31]

Israel said it was investigating the incident.^[34] Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Lieutenant colonel Nadav Shoshani, said Israel did not know who was responsible for the airstrike and said the IDF was not aware of any IDF operation within the region.^[35]

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the incident "a terrible, tragic mistake".^[36]

In a statement, UNESCO condemned the airstrike, calling it "a grave violation of humanitarian law". United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the airstrike.^[9] A panel of 18 independent experts on the UN Committee on ‌the ⁠Rights of the Child said it was "alarmed" by news of the strike and said children must be protected from war. The UN human rights office, omitting its belief of the party responsible, said "the forces behind a deadly attack on a girls' ​school in Iran" to investigate the airstrike and report its findings.^[34] Its high commissioner, Türk, called for a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation.^[24]

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor described the attack as a "horrific crime and a consolidation of the collapse of civilian protection", and said that any attack on "protected persons" such as children and teaching staff constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.^[14] The Norway-based human rights group, Hengaw, said it was seeking the names of victims of the attack, adding that "the establishment and expansion of military facilities in close proximity to schools and public spaces place civilians at heightened risk."^[24]

Pakistani female and human rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who is a United Nations Messenger of Peace and Nobel Peace laurate, said news of the airstrike left her "heartbroken and appalled." Yousafzai condemned the killings of civilians, particularly those of children.^[4][9]

An Al Jazeera investigation into the airstrike concluded thus:^[14]

The attackers’ ability to spare newly established adjacent facilities (such as the Martyr Absalan clinic) and their glaring failure to avoid an elementary school operating at full capacity and packed with 170 girls leaves us with two scenarios, both unequivocally condemnatory: Either US and Israeli forces relied, in striking the vicinity of the Asif Brigade, on a very old, outdated intelligence target bank (dating to before 2013), which would constitute grave negligence and reckless disregard for civilian lives; or the strike was carried out deliberately and with prior knowledge to inflict maximum societal shock and undermine popular support for Iran’s military establishment.

Other experts corroborate the airstrike's precision. Researchers at Oregon State University's Conflict Ecology Laboratory, Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, noted that the detonation centroids were "pretty clean." Satellite imagery specialist Jeffrey Lewis agreed that the airstrikes were precision airstrikes but added that the strike being an error was more likely.^[15]

The Al Jazeera investigation also linked the attack and subsequent misinformation to similar attacks on civilians by the US and Israel, such as the Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing (1970), Amiriyah shelter bombing (1991), Qana massacre (1996) and Kunduz hospital airstrike (2015) and Israeli attacks on schools during the Gaza war (since 2023).^[14]

Shannon Bosch, an associate professor of law at Edith Cowan University, questioned the application of human rights law on the attack, particularly regarding measures of precautionary distinction, proportionality, and military necessity by the perpetrator. Depending on independent findings on proportionality, Bosch characterized the airstrike as fitting in an "overwhelmingly compliant pattern of behaviour" in a phenomenon of the "death of international law."^[28]

• List of massacres in Iran
  • 2026 Iran massacres
• List of school-related attacks
• List of school massacres by death toll
• List of attacks related to primary schools