On February 28, 2026, a powerful explosion destroyed the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ primary school in the city of Minab in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran. The blast occurred during normal class hours while students and teachers were inside the building. The incident took place amid escalating hostilities linked to the wider 2026 Iran war, during which the United States Armed Forces and allied partners had launched strikes against Iranian military facilities across the region.
Iranian state media reported that the explosion killed between 168 and 180 people, most of them girls between the ages of seven and twelve. Officials from Iran’s Ministry of Education said approximately 264 students were present when the blast occurred, leaving many children and staff trapped beneath the collapsed structure. Rescue teams and local residents worked for hours to search through debris and recover survivors from the rubble. The school was located next to a former compound used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which had previously served as a naval facility. According to Iranian authorities, the compound had long been closed to military activity and the school operated independently as a civilian educational site. Although the building was near older military infrastructure, it functioned strictly as a school.
Iranian officials quickly blamed U.S. and Israeli military operations for the strike, calling it a serious violation of international law. President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the attack and called for international accountability. Global organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Human Rights Watch, demanded an independent investigation into the incident. Open-source analysts from Bellingcat reviewed satellite imagery and video footage that circulated after the explosion. Their analysis suggested the strike may have involved a Tomahawk cruise missile, though responsibility has not been formally confirmed. The United States Department of Defense said it was reviewing the incident while emphasizing that investigations into civilian casualties were still ongoing.
