Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday described the February 28 strike on an elementary school in Tehran’s Minab as a "deliberate, intentional" act by the United States and Israel. Speaking during an urgent debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), he said more than 175 students and teachers had been “slaughtered in cold blood” in what he termed a “calculated, phased assault".
He called the attack a war crime and a crime against humanity, demanding “unequivocal condemnation by all and unambiguous accountability for the culprits."
Araghchi argued the strike could not have been accidental. "At a time when the American-Israeli aggressors, in their own assertions, possess the most advanced technologies, and the highest-precision military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on the school was anything other than deliberate and intentional," he told the council.
He also rejected any justification for the incident, saying, “The United States’ contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility.”
The strike occurred the same day the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks across Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes by Tehran on Israel and Gulf nations.
Preliminary US military findings, reported by The New York Times, indicated that a Tomahawk missile may have hit the school due to a targeting error, with coordinates based on outdated data from a nearby Iranian military facility.
Volker Türk described the bombing as “visceral horror” in a video address and called for a prompt, impartial, and transparent investigation, with findings made public.
Mohaddeseh Falahat, a mother who lost two children in the strike, also addressed the council via video, urging diplomats “not to let this tragedy be forgotten.” “No mother is prepared to hear the words: ‘Your child is not coming back,’” she said.
The debate, requested by Iran, China, and Cuba, marked the second urgent session on the Middle East conflict this week. Earlier, the 47-member council had condemned Iran’s strikes on Gulf nations and called for reparations to victims, though no draft resolution was discussed on Friday.
