Grief and Fury Erupt in Iran Following Deadly School Missile Strike

A missile strike on an elementary school in southern Iran has ignited widespread mourning and condemnation, with families and officials pointing blame at the United States for the devastating attack that claimed the lives of dozens of children.

Devastation in Minab

On February 28, a missile struck an elementary school in Minab, a town in southern Iran, killing Zahra Monazzah's son Soheil and dozens of other children. The attack has fueled intense anger and accusations directed at the United States. An American official informed NBC News two weeks after the incident that the U.S. was "most likely behind the school attack," potentially relying on "outdated intelligence."

Monazzah, alongside other bereaved families and neighbors, expressed profound rage at then-President Donald Trump. "Trump should not think that killing our children has made us despair," Monazzah stated, her grief tinged with defiance. "He should cry for himself, because he will end up in hell." She described her son Soheil, who died a "martyr" just two days before his eighth birthday, as another victim in a long line. "The blood of our young people has always been shed by America, so this was not unexpected," she added.

Eyewitness Trauma and Broader Accusations

Jafar Qasemi, one of the first responders on the scene, recounted the harrowing experience of retrieving the schoolchildren's bodies. "My feeling is a mix of anger about this attack and a strong determination to defend ourselves," Qasemi said. "This war is a test of honor and the defense of human dignity. Every drop of blood spilled in this path will make the spirit of resistance stronger." The traumatic images from that day persist for Qasemi. "Most of them were children. No one spoke at first. It was like being in a silent film. Even a child sitting by the school wall whose face was completely burned," he described, noting that "time was moving very slowly" for him. He recalled opening a child’s blood-covered bag, struck by the untouched snack inside. "I still haven’t been able to come to terms with it. I can still smell blood and gunpowder, and the images of that day pass by me constantly," he shared, yet found some solace in witnessing the resilience of a father reassuring others while his own daughter remained buried under the rubble.

Despite its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which 20% of the world's oil flowed daily before the conflict, the region of Minab and its province of Hormozgan rank among Iran's most impoverished areas. A Minab education official, who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to speak publicly, characterized the attack as indicative of what he perceived as broader injustices perpetrated by the U.S. "The attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab recalls the crimes committed by the United States over the past 250 years," the official stated, drawing parallels to historical events. "From the killing of indigenous peoples in the American continent to the crimes committed in Vietnam. Wars leave nothing behind except the destruction of human lives, resources and infrastructure."

International Condemnation and Ongoing Conflict

An independent investigation conducted by Amnesty International concluded that a U.S. military guided weapon directly struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school building. The organization reported that the attack resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including over 100 children, labeling it "a serious breach of international humanitarian law." Amnesty's findings relied on an analysis of video and satellite imagery, as well as interviews with three individuals outside the country with knowledge of the situation in Minab.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, condemned the incident in the report. "This harrowing attack on a school, with classrooms full of children, is a sickening illustration of the catastrophic and entirely predictable price civilians are paying during this armed conflict," Guevara-Rosas asserted. "Schools must be places of safety and learning for children. Instead, this school in Minab became a site of mass killing. The US authorities could, and should, have known it was a school building." NBC News independently verified a series of videos documenting the aftermath, one of which depicted black smoke billowing from a building adorned with a blue wall painted with flowers, accompanied by the sound of a woman's voice.

Separately, Iran’s military has faced accusations of targeting civilian sites across the Middle East in other contexts.

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