TEHRAN– Iran has called on the international community to hold the United States and Israel accountable for 'a war crime against children,' condemning the deadly strike on a primary school in the southern city of Minab during the recent US-Israeli military campaign against the country.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council's annual open debate on Children and Armed Conflict on Thursday, Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the attack on the Minab primary school represented "one of the gravest war crimes committed against Iranian children" and urged the UN to ensure justice and accountability for those responsible.

According to Iravani, the recent US-Israeli military operations deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure across Iran, including schools and educational institutions. He said the attacks resulted in the deaths of 220 Iranian children, including 17 under the age of five, while dozens of schools and other civilian facilities were destroyed or severely damaged.

The Iranian envoy described the strike on the primary school in Minab, located in Hormozgan Province, as the deadliest incident involving children during the conflict. He said the school was struck twice by US missiles during school hours while 264 students were attending classes.

According to the Iranian delegation, the attack killed 168 schoolchildren between the ages of seven and twelve, along with teachers and parents, and injured more than 96 others. Iravani told the Security Council that many victims remained trapped beneath the rubble for hours, while several bodies were so severely damaged that they could not be immediately identified.

"These were children exercising their fundamental right to education in a place that should have been safe," Iravani said, arguing that they were civilians protected under international humanitarian law.

Addressing the Security Council, the Iranian ambassador argued that the attack constituted two of the six grave violations against children identified by the United Nations—namely, the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools. He described the strike as a war crime. He said it represented not only a tragedy for Iran but also a challenge to the credibility of the international legal system established under the UN Charter.

Iran urged the United Nations and the international community to investigate the incident and ensure full accountability for 'all those responsible, including the perpetrators, planners and commanders of the attack.'

Concluding his remarks, Iravani stressed that the protection of children "cannot be selective" and called for the equal application of international humanitarian law without political considerations.

"The memory of the children of Minab demands justice, accountability, and action—not silence," he told the Security Council.