The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that targeted several Iranian cities on Saturday, ahead of a new round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington, struck an active girls’ elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, leaving behind extremely gruesome scenes almost never witnessed in the country’s modern history.

Authorities in Hormozgan province report that at least 85 students were killed and 95 others were injured; footage captured by local journalists reveals the mutilated body parts of the young girls amidst the debris and rubble.

Iranian officials have universally denounced the attack, describing it as a deliberate atrocity against innocent youth and an escalation against the Iranian nation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a severe statement mourning the “heartbreaking tragedy” at the Shajareh Tayyebah elementary school. Describing the bombing of the facility while it was “full of innocent pupils” as a “savage act,” the president vowed it would become an indelible part of the aggressors’ history of crimes against Iran. The statement strongly condemned the “inhumane act” and called for immediate, prioritized medical attention for the wounded.

Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi took to social media to warn that the attack “will not go unanswered.” He circulated images of the destroyed facility, emphasizing that the daylight bombing targeted a site brimming with young students.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei noted that the strike was a clear “act of aggression and terrorism.” Baghaei noted that the action qualifies as both a war crime and a crime against humanity.

“The world must stand up to this grave injustice and the UNSC must act now in exercise of its primary responsibility under the Charter,” he wrote on X. 

Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref stated that the “security and dignity of the Iranian nation is our red line, and no aggression will remain without cost.” Aref further announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran will utilize its full legal, political, and international capacity to pursue this crime in international bodies, expecting the international community “not to remain silent” regarding the continuation of such acts of aggression.

The U.S.-Israeli strike on the active girls’ school is a fundamental violation of international law. Deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure like schools is prohibited under all established treaties and constitutes a war crime because it ignores the core legal rules of distinction and proportionality in conflict.

Over the past two years, Israel has destroyed countless schools, universities, hospitals, and places of worship in Gaza, under the political, diplomatic, and logistical support of the United States.