This image grab taken from Iranian state television broadcasted on February 28, 2026, show what it says is the site of deadly US and Israeli strikes that hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab, in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan near the strategic sea route of the Strait of Hormuz. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking fears of regional war with explosions reported across the Middle East as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles. (Photo by IRIB TV / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / IRIB / HANDOUT” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
The death toll from an attack Saturday on a school in Iran’s south has risen to 85, the judiciary said, after the US and Israel launched strikes on the Islamic republic.
“The number of martyrs at the girls’ school in Minab has increased to 85,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website quoted the area’s prosecutor’s office as saying.
The attack, reported on Saturday, is part of an ongoing wave of joint US-Israeli military operations across Iran that has escalated regional tensions and drawn sharp condemnation from Tehran.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said rescue workers were still clearing debris from the school site, where the strike caused heavy civilian casualties. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted a photo of the damaged building on X, stating it had killed “innocent children.”
“These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered,” Araghchi wrote.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the strike as a “blatant crime” and called on the United Nations Security Council to take action.
Separately, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that at least two students were killed in another Israeli strike on a school east of Tehran.
Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Vall, reporting from Tehran, questioned US and Israeli claims that their operations target only military sites.
“President Trump has promised the Iranian people that aid or help is coming their way, but now we are seeing civilian casualties; that’s something that the Iranian government will stress as a case of violation of international law and an aggression against the Iranian people,” Vall said.
Neither the United States nor Israel has issued an immediate response to Iran’s claims regarding the school strikes.
Bahrain schools to switch to distance learning ‘until further notice’: govt
Bahrain announced that all schools and universities would switch to long-distance learning until further notice following Iranian missile attacks on Saturday.
“The ministry of education announces that, as a precautionary measure and to ensure the safety of students in educational institutions, it has been decided to switch to distance learning starting tomorrow and until further notice,” it said in a statement.
“This applies to all early childhood education institutions, public and private schools and higher education institutions,” it added.
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