By Shumaila Aslam
Pakistan Bureau Chief, Scandinavian News
MINAB, Iran More than four months after a US Missile strike destroyed an elementary school in southern Iran, the city of Minab remains in mourning.
The attack, which killed over 150 people most of them children has drawn international condemnation and renewed calls for accountability.
The Attack
On February 28, 2026, the first day of the US Missile -Israeli war against Iran, a Tomahawk missile struck Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Hormozgan province.
Multiple missiles hit the compound in rapid succession between roughly 10:23 and 10:45 a.m. local time, according to documented accounts of the incident.
The school, which taught boys and girls on separate floors, was located near a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval facility. Investigators and munitions experts have said the school itself did not appear to be the intended target.
Local Iranian authorities reported at least 156 deaths, including 120 students, 26 teachers, seven parents who had rushed to the scene, and a bus driver. Other estimates, including from international observers, put the toll as high as 168 to 170. Dozens more were injured.
Evidence Points to US Missile
Amnesty International said its analysis of video footage, satellite imagery, and missile remnants indicated a US Missile manufactured Tomahawk missile was likely used in the strike, calling it a potential war crime.
Munitions experts consulted separately by CNN and NBC News reached similar conclusions after reviewing footage of the attack.
At a Pentagon briefing on March 2, 2026, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine confirmed the US Missile Navy had fired Tomahawk missiles in southern Iran on the day of the strike.
A subsequent US military inquiry reportedly found American forces were likely responsible, attributing the strike to outdated intelligence that identified the area as a military target.
US Missile President Donald Trump described the incident as “a mistake.” Israel’s military has said it was not aware of operations in the area.
Grief Without Closure
For families in Minab, identification of the dead was often impossible through conventional means. With many bodies burned or dismembered, relatives identified children by clothing, fingernails, or personal belongings recovered from the rubble.
Among the dead was teacher Zohreh Shahriyari, who was six months pregnant; her unborn child is included in the official death toll. Some victims, including seven-year-old Makan Nasiri, were never recovered.
Bereaved parent Alieh Zakeri, whose seven-year-old son Reza Barazni was among those killed, described identifying her son by his clothing rather than his face.
Her account, along with others from grieving families in Minab, was documented by Scandinavian News Agency’s Pakistan Bureau Chief Shumaila Aslam.
International Response
At the UN Human Rights Council, Iceland and Norway condemned the strike as a grave breach of international humanitarian law. Iran’s mission to the United Nations described the loss as “168 stolen futures.”
On July 16, 2026, a group of 24 US senators, including Adam Schiff and Elissa Slotkin, pressed the Department of Defense to publicly release its completed investigation into the strike, arguing there was no justification for withholding an unclassified accounting of what happened. As of this report, the Pentagon has not released its findings.
US Missile Strikes Iran War 2026
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