Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Washington that U.S. forces "would not deliberately target a school" after Iranian state media reported that a strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, in southern Iran, killed more than 160 people. The account, which Iranian outlets said occurred on the first day of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, has been described as the deadliest single incident in the opening phase of the conflict.
International bodies and prominent education advocates have reacted to the reports. The U.N. culture and education agency UNESCO issued a condemnation, and Nobel Peace Prize-winning education activist Malala Yousafzai also denounced the incident. Under international humanitarian law, deliberately attacking schools, hospitals or other civilian structures constitutes a war crime.
When asked about the reported strike on Monday, Rubio said investigators in the U.S. would examine any strike if it turned out to be an American action. "The Department of War would be investigating that if that was our strike, and I would refer your question to them," he said. He added: "The United States would not deliberately target a school." Rubio also conveyed that he did not have the detailed facts of the incident and described the reported outcome as potentially tragic.
Officials in the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not provide comment in response to a request. Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command told media outlets it was "looking into" reports of "civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations." That statement indicates U.S. officials are investigating whether civilian casualties occurred during the initial phase of operations.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. under-secretary-general for peacebuilding, said on Monday she was aware of the reports coming from Iran and noted that U.S. officials have said they were looking into the allegations. "It will be very tragic, but I can’t speak to the details behind it because I just don’t have it," she said, underlining the lack of independent confirmation of the circumstances behind the reported deaths.
Iranian state media blamed the strike on Israel and the United States. When asked about those claims, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, said he had seen differing accounts, including reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted the school. The reports of who was responsible could not be independently confirmed.
The reported Minab strike came on the opening day of an air campaign that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran. The air war has since broadened with Iranian retaliation. Authorities reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed over the weekend. President Donald Trump has said the operation could continue for some weeks.
Context and reporting limitations
At this stage, public statements from U.S. officials emphasize that they would not intentionally strike educational facilities and that investigations are under way if any U.S. action is implicated. U.N. officials and humanitarian advocates have called attention to the reports but stress that they are working from limited, unverified information. Multiple parties have offered conflicting accounts about responsibility for the reported attack.
What remains unclear
- Independent verification of the reported death toll and the precise circumstances surrounding the Minab strike is not available.
- Attribution for the strike remains disputed among different reports, and investigations by relevant military and international authorities are being referenced but have not publicly resolved the matter.