Iran-Israel28 February, 20262 min read
US and Israel Attack Girls' Elementary School in Minab, Iran; Iranian Death Tolls Reported 85–165
U.S. and Israeli strikes hit Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan. Reported death tolls for the school strike vary across sources, from 85 to 165.
14 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on U.S. Intercepts Iran Message Activating Sleeper Cells After U.S.-Israel Strike Kills Khamenei →
Minab school airstrike tolls
An airstrike struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province. The strike killed large numbers of pupils. Iranian sources reported sharply varying death tolls, with local state media and the local prosecutor telling IRNA that 165 people were killed and 96 injured.
“At least 85 people — overwhelmingly children — were killed when an Israeli strike hit an elementary girls’ school in Minab, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.”
Other Iranian outlets and local reporting put the figure at 85 dead. These divergent counts reflect immediate, competing tallies from Iranian authorities and state-linked outlets in the hours after the strike.
Reports on US-Israeli offensive
The strike on the Minab school came amid a coordinated, large-scale US-Israeli military offensive. Iranian and international outlets say the offensive hit scores of targets across the country.
Reports describe hundreds of military and strategic sites struck across multiple provinces. Some accounts say the joint operation targeted key government buildings in Tehran, including the secure compound of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Nationwide casualty toll
Iranian emergency authorities reported heavy national casualties and damage beyond Minab. Iran’s Red Crescent publicly gave a nationwide toll of at least 201 dead and 747 wounded. It said 24 of the country’s 31 provinces were affected, placing the Minab school strike among a broader wave of civilian and military impacts reported across multiple provinces.
“Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pir-Hossein Kolivand said that since US‑Israeli strikes began Saturday morning a total of 201 people have been killed and 747 injured, and 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces have been hit.”
Iran's response to Minab attack
Iranian officials condemned the Minab attack and raised the alarm internationally. Iran's foreign ministry urged the UN Security Council to act. Senior Iranian leaders called the school bombing a massacre.
President Masoud Pezeshkian labeled the strike "barbaric," and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the killing of "dozens of innocent children" unacceptable. Iranian forces reportedly launched counter-strikes, including operations aimed at US assets in the Gulf.
Conflicting Minab strike reports
Significant contradictions and verification gaps remain in reporting. Iranian state outlets and officials gave varying casualty counts for the Minab strike, with figures reported from initial small numbers to 85 and as high as 165.
“Many reports remain unverified amid rapidly evolving, contradictory claims.”
Some international outlets reported Israeli officials saying they were unaware of strikes in that area. Multiple accounts cautioned that many reports were unverified amid fast-moving, contradictory claims.
