Sunday, March, 1 2026 - At least 85 students have been killed in an airstrike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, according to local officials, with dozens more reported injured in what has become one of the deadliest incidents since the latest wave of regional attacks began.
The strike reportedly hit Minab Girl’s Primary School in
Hormozgan province. Authorities in the area attributed the attack to Israeli
forces, according to Sky News. One official said: “In today’s attacks by the
Zionist regime on Minab city, a girls’ elementary school was targeted and so
far 85 students have been martyred”.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported a significantly
higher toll, claiming that more than 85 people were killed at the school. It
added that several others were wounded, though no additional details were
provided about the nature or severity of their injuries.
Minab is believed to host a base linked to the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the powerful military organization at the
centre of Iran’s security apparatus.
The strike came hours after US President Donald Trump issued
a warning to the IRGC, telling the group to lay down its arms or “face certain
death”. In a speech earlier in the day, Trump said he would “raze” Iran’s
military sites to the ground and called on Iranian citizens to remove Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei’s government from power.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had carried out
strikes on multiple targets in western Iran as part of a joint military
campaign with the United States, referred to as Operation Roaring Lion. An
Israeli official told journalists that the operation had been planned for
months and was intended to go beyond previous strikes conducted last year, when
Trump said he had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In Tehran, highways became gridlocked as large numbers of
residents attempted to leave the capital amid reports of incoming strikes.
Witnesses described long queues forming at petrol stations and cash machines,
while images circulating online showed charred vehicles and debris scattered
across city streets. Many residents expressed fears that an internet blackout
would leave them unable to contact family members abroad.
Maryam, a 54-year-old housewife in Tehran, told Reuters she
was leaving the city with her family for northern Iran. “We are being killed by
the regime and by Israel. We are the victims of this regime’s hostile
policies,” she said.
In his address, Trump urged Iranian civilians to remain
sheltered during the operation, saying they would later have an opportunity to
“take over the government”.
Satellite imagery cited by the New York Times appeared to
show extensive destruction at a compound in Tehran believed to be the residence
of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, reports indicate he was not present in
the capital at the time of the strike, having been moved to a “secure
location”. He has not appeared publicly for several days.
Officials have said that several senior Revolutionary Guard
commanders and political figures have been killed in the broader wave of
attacks. The escalation has not been confined to Iran. Airstrikes have also
been reported in neighbouring countries, including at a US air base in Bahrain.
Explosions were heard across the United Arab Emirates,
including in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, prompting the suspension of flights from both
cities. Doha airport in Qatar, a major hub for regional travel, was also
affected as airlines responded to the growing instability across the Gulf.
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