Iran has held a mass funeral for 165 schoolgirls and staff killed in an airstrike on a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab, in what officials describe as the deadliest single incident since joint United States–Israeli military operations began.
The strike occurred on Saturday, the first day of coordinated attacks by the United States and Israel against Iranian targets.
Iranian authorities said more than 160 people were killed when the school located near a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was hit.
Images circulating in Iranian media showed rows of coffins draped in national flags and large crowds gathered in mourning.
Funeral ceremonies were held amid heightened tensions across the country.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, shared a photograph on social media showing graves being prepared, accompanied by a message criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump and the military campaign.
The U.S. military said it was reviewing reports of the incident. Israel’s military stated it was “not aware” of any operations conducted in the area at the time of the strike.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not deliberately target civilian infrastructure.
“We would have no interest, and frankly, no incentive to target civilian infrastructure.
The United States would not target a school,” Rubio said, while noting that details of the incident were still unclear.
The attack has drawn international condemnation.
The UNESCO denounced the reported strike, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai described attacks on schools and other civilian institutions as violations of international humanitarian law.
The incident has further intensified the rapidly escalating conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel, with retaliatory strikes continuing across parts of the Middle East.
Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis have so far shown little progress.
