Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday sharply criticised the United States and Israel, describing the attack on a school in southern Iran at the start of the ongoing war as a “calculated assault” and a “crime against humanity”.
Addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council via video, Araghchi referred to the bombing of Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab city as a “calculated, phased assault”.
He said “more than 175 students and teachers were slaughtered in cold blood” in the strike.
“At a time when the American-Israeli aggressors, in their own assertions, possess the most advanced technologies, and the highest-precision military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on the school was anything other than deliberate and intentional,” he said.
Calls For Accountability And Global Condemnation
Calling the strike a “war crime” and a “crime against humanity”, Araghchi said it “demands unequivocal condemnation by all and unambiguous accountability for the culprits”.
“This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference,” he added.
He also insisted the attack “was not a mere ‘incident’ nor a ‘miscalculation’.”
“The United States' contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility.”
US Probe Points To Targeting Error
The attack in Minab occurred on February 28, the first day of the war, and remains one of the most devastating incidents of the conflict, which marked one month on March 27.
According to a report by The New York Times citing preliminary findings of a US military probe, a US Tomahawk cruise missile struck the school due to a mistake.
The report said the intended target was an Iranian base, and the school building had previously been part of that base. The coordinates were set using outdated data, leading to the strike.
Conflicting Claims Over Responsibility
The report also noted that US President Donald Trump had initially suggested Iran may have hit the school itself, despite the country not possessing any Tomahawk missiles.
