A United Nations fact-finding mission has initiated a formal inquiry into a devastating airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, southern Iran. The attack, which occurred on February 28th during the initial phase of a US-Israeli military operation, resulted in the deaths of at least 175 individuals, the vast majority of whom were schoolchildren.
Concurrent investigations by US military authorities have yielded preliminary findings indicating American responsibility for the strike. According to reports from Reuters and The New York Times, officers at US Central Command allegedly utilized outdated intelligence data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency to establish the target coordinates. The strike on the educational facility was executed simultaneously with missile attacks on nearby Iranian naval installations.
The Iranian government has formally accused the United States of perpetrating what it characterizes as an ‘unforgivable war crime.’ UN investigator Max du Plessis emphasized the critical importance of an independent investigation during a press conference in Geneva, stating, ‘Given the innocent lives that have been lost, there is a critical need for such an investigation to be done.’
Multiple eyewitness accounts and medical personnel from the Iranian Red Crescent describe a ‘double-tap’ strike pattern, where a second missile targeted survivors who had sought shelter after the initial explosion. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei specifically identified the weapon used as an ‘American Tomahawk missile’ that ‘slaughtered 168 Iranian little angels.’
This incident represents one of the most severe civilian casualty events in decades of US military operations in the Middle East. Human rights organizations including Amnesty International have already attributed responsibility to US forces, while the Trump administration maintains its denial of intentionally targeting civilians.
The UN mission is concurrently investigating a separate Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin prison during June’s conflict, which it has preliminarily classified as a war crime.