Iran’s Foreign Minister on Friday (March 27, 2026) branded a deadly strike on an Iranian school on the first day of the West Asian war as a “calculated” U.S. assault.

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Addressing an urgent debate in the United Nations Human Rights Council focused on the February 28 strike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab, Abbas Araghchi said “more than 175 students and teachers were slaughtered in cold blood” in a “calculated, phased assault”.

The strike, he said in a video address, “was a war crime and a crime against humanity, one that demands unequivocal condemnation by all, and unambiguous accountability for the culprits”.

UN rights chief Volker Turk, meanwhile, said the bombing evoked “visceral horror”, insisting upon the need for “justice”, in a video address to the council.

Mohaddeseh Falahat, the mother of two children who died in the attack, also spoke to the council by video, calling for the diplomats in Geneva “not to let this tragedy be forgotten”.

“No mother is prepared to hear the words: ‘Your child is not coming back’,” she said, in an emotional address.

‘Deliberate and intentional’

The attack happened on February 28, on the day the United States and Israel launched the war with attacks across Iran, with Tehran in turn striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.

A U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile hit the elementary school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a U.S. military investigation reported by The New York Times.

The newspaper said the U.S. military was bombing an adjacent Iranian base, of which the school building was formerly a part, and target coordinates were set using outdated data.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially suggested that Iran itself may have been responsible — despite Iran not having Tomahawk missiles.

UN rights chief Turk stressed that “the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly”.

“Senior U.S. officials have said the strike is under investigation,” he said, calling for its findings to be made public.

Mr. Araghchi did not wait for the results of the probe to attribute blame.

“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.

‘Atrocity’

“This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference,” the Minister said.

“The United States’ contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility,” he insisted.

Friday’s discussion, at the request of Iran, China and Cuba, marked the second urgent debate before the rights council this week, focused on the war in West Asia.

On Wednesday (March 25, 2026), a debate requested by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, considered Iran’s strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

Following that debate, the 47-member council approved by consensus a resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbours, calling for swift “reparation” to all victims of its strikes.

No draft resolution was discussed during Friday’s debate.

Published – March 27, 2026 05:12 pm IST

The U.S. military said on ​Friday (March 13, 2026) it has elevated the investigation into a devastating February 28 strike on an Iranian girls’ school after media reports revealed the probe shows ‌U.S. forces were likely responsible.

Iran has said the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School killed 168 children. If ​U.S. fault is confirmed, it would rank among the worst incidents of civilian deaths in decades of ⁠U.S. military strikes in West Asia. Reuters first reported the investigation’s initial findings on March 5.

Citing the seriousness of the matter, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to comment on the preliminary finding of the investigation, saying: “We’re not going to let reporting lead us or force our hand ‌into indicating what happened.”

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He said a higher-level investigation would be led by an unnamed U.S. general officer from outside of U.S. Central Command, which is overseeing operations against Iran. Such a move is typically taken by the ‌U.S. military to ensure greater independence for investigators.

“The command investigation will take as long as necessary to address all the ‌matters ⁠surrounding this incident,” Mr. Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon.

Iran’s new supreme leader blamed the country’s ⁠enemies for the school strike in his first message to the country on Thursday (March 12, 2026), without explicitly saying the U.S. was responsible.

Probe can be used for disciplinary action

Three U.S. officials told Reuters the command investigation Mr. Hegseth referred to is an administrative probe known as a 15-6, which can become the basis for disciplinary ​action if warranted. It usually includes sworn statements or ‌interviews with those involved. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal military processes.

The head of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, ordered the 15-6 probe last week after the initial review was completed. The outside officer was appointed on Thursday (March 12, 2026), one official said.

The development underscores the serious concern about how to respond to possible U.S. responsibility for the tragedy ‌and the need to comprehensively examine the incident.

“It signals a recognition that something went wrong and to try to ​understand what happened and why,” said Annie Shiel, U.S. advocacy director with the Center for Civilians in Conflict.

What we know about alleged strike on Iran school

Trump initially blamed Iran

It remains unclear how U.S. forces could have struck the school. Preliminary findings ⁠suggest U.S. forces may have relied upon outdated targeting data that apparently did not distinguish between the school and the adjoining Iranian military base in Minab, a town in southern Iran. Video and other evidence suggest the school was hit by a Tomahawk cruise missile, a ‌powerful, precision-guided munition that few nations other than the U.S. possess.

The investigation comes despite public comments by President Donald Trump initially doubting the possibility of U.S. involvement that stoked concern among some defense officials about whether he would be willing to accept blame.

The president initially said, without offering evidence, that Iran may have attacked the school and suggested Tehran may have Tomahawk missiles, which military experts call extremely unlikely.

Still, Mr. Trump on Monday (March 9, 2026) said publicly he would “certainly” accept the results of the U.S. investigation: “Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”

A second U.S. official pointed to those remarks as evidence that Trump was moving toward accepting the ‌preliminary investigation results. Further, the official said public discussion of the investigation had made it politically difficult for Mr. Trump to reject the findings once they are finalized.

The ​official noted that a 15-6 investigation reflected the seriousness of the Trump administration’s approach to the investigation because it would comprehensively examine what went wrong and how to correct those issues.

School’s online presence

A Reuters visual ⁠investigation published on Thursday (March 12, 2026) showed the Iranian school had a years-long, public online presence, including dozens of photos of the children and their ⁠activities.

The Shajareh Tayyebeh School was one of 59 schools within the Persian Gulf Martyrs’ Cultural Educational Institute, a network affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military force that reports to Iran’s supreme leader, according to archived copies ‌of the network’s website.

United Nations ‘deeply disturbed’ by strike on Iran school that killed over 160 children

The school’s website includes photos of students gathered in the yard, which matched verified videos outside the building after the strike.

Satellite imagery from mid-2015 shows the building was walled off from the Iranian military base and appears ​to have operated as a school since at least 2018, when the painted murals are first visible on its outer walls.

Published – March 14, 2026 03:25 am IST