Death toll approaches 150 after US-Israeli strikes hit Iranian school

Around 148 people have been confirmed dead, the majority schoolchildren, according to Iranian authorities.

The attack came as the US and Israel launched joint military action against Iran on Saturday, beginning in Tehran and expanding across the country.

Governor of Hormozgan province, Mohammad Ashouri, said the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in the coastal city of Minab was hit just before 11am.

Around 170 schoolgirls were present at the time of the attack.

There are hopes that rescue operations will find further survivors trapped under rubble, says Ashouri.

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A video circulating on social media, factchecked by Persion authenticators at Factnameh, appears to show the immediate aftermath of the strike - with smoke rising from the building shell and debris littered across the road and courtyard.

State television also showed the destroyed school, where mothers could be heard screaming in distress at the scene.

The school appears to be adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks.

The Minab judiciary said in a statement that 148 people had been killed, and the Mizan news agency are reporting several children are currently missing.

A further 95 people have been injured in the attack - although the severity of their situations remains unclear.

The Islamic republic described this attack as an example of what it called US and Israeli atrocities, with the foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, calling it a “war crime”.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said the strike was “savage” and “inhumane”, and spokesman for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, wrote on X that the bombing of the school was “the most bitter news” of the conflict so far.

“God knows how many more children’s bodies they will pull from under the rubble.”

If the death toll is confirmed, the school bombing would be the largest mass casualty event of the US-led attack so far.

Iran’s Red Crescent said 201 people were killed and 747 injured on Saturday across 24 provinces, but has not specified how many of these were civilians.

Neither the US nor Israel has commented on the reason for the strike, but the US military said it was aware of reports of civilian casualties in Iran from its joint operation with Israel.

US Central Command oversees American operations in the region.

Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman, said they were looking into the situation, and were taking decisions to reduce civilian casualties.

“We are aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations. We take these reports seriously and are looking into them,” he said.

“The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm.”

Iranian state TV has reported that “many” civilians had been killed across the country.

They have described the strike in Minab as the most tragic incident so far, but not yet provided any further information on overall civilian casualties