People search through the debris of the girls school in Minab struck on February 28. Reuters
Reuters
Geneva, Updated At : 03:24 PM Mar 17, 2026 IST
A UN inquiry has opened an investigation into a deadly strike on a primary school that took place on the first day of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, a member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran told reporters on Tuesday.
Iranian officials said the Shajareh Tayyebeh School was hit by two missiles in quick succession, killing 168 children, mostly girls, according to statements in Geneva on Monday.
“We’re at an early stage of that investigation,” Max du Plessis, a member of the mission, said, adding the team had received credible reports consistent with Iran’s reported death toll.
He said the loss of innocent lives made an independent probe essential and that an impartial outcome must follow.
If the United States is found responsible, the incident would rank among the worst civilian casualty events in decades of US military strikes in the Middle East.
