US investigating strike on Iranian girls' school that killed 168 students
2026-03-04 - 23:32
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday that Washington is investigating an airstrike on a girls' primary school in southern Iran that left 168 students dead, according to Iranian authorities. When asked by reporters about the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in the city of Minab, Hegseth stated, "All I can say is we're investigating that," adding that the US military "never targets civilian sites." School struck during classes Iranian officials report that the school was hit Saturday during the first day of joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Minab Governor Mohammad Radmehr said the strike directly hit the building while classes were underway, killing girls aged between 7 and 12. The structure was largely destroyed, with parts of its concrete roof collapsing onto classrooms. Iranian state media reported that at least 95 others were injured in the attack. Conflicting accounts Iran has accused the US and Israel of carrying out the strike, while the Israeli military stated it was not aware of any Israeli or US attack in the area. Israel has previously denied involvement in deadly strikes during other wars before later revising its accounts after further evidence emerged. The conflicting statements have deepened tensions as the international community grapples with the humanitarian impact of the six-day-old conflict. Victims named Iranian media published the names of the students killed in the Minab attack, a list that includes Adrina Pegah, Fatemeh Karimi, Hoda Soltani, Kimia Salari, Maedeh Zamani, Nazanin Zahra Jazayeri, Raha Eftekhari, Reyhaneh Ahmadi, Sahar Ahmadi Zadeh, Taranom Rostami, Vania Dehghani, Yas Sheikhabadi, Zahra Ahmadpour, Zeinab Jafari and dozens more young girls. The release of the names has intensified grief and anger across Iran, where communities are mourning the loss of an entire classroom of children. Civilian toll mounts The Minab school strike adds to a civilian death toll that the Iranian Health Ministry reported Wednesday has reached at least 926 since the US-Israeli strikes began. According to ministry figures, 180 of those killed were under 18, including three children younger than five. The youngest fatality was a one-year-old child in Tehran, while among the injured, the youngest was a six-month-old boy. The attack on the girls' school represents one of the deadliest single incidents of the conflict and has drawn condemnation from humanitarian organizations.