Minab, Iran — Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported Saturday that an airstrike struck an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, killing at least 63 students and injuring dozens more, amid a rapidly escalating military confrontation between the United States and Iran.
According to Mehr, the strike hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Hormozgan province during the morning hours. The agency said approximately 170 students were inside the building at the time. The children were reportedly between seven and twelve years old, and most were girls.
Mehr reported at least 60 additional students were injured. The figures have not been independently verified, and Iranian authorities have not released an official casualty list.
The United States has not confirmed striking a school and has not publicly commented on the specific allegations. American officials have not acknowledged responsibility for the reported incident as of Saturday.
Operation “Epic Fury” and Escalation
The reports emerged shortly after the Trump administration announced the launch of a new military campaign against Iran, named “Epic Fury.” The administration has not publicly detailed the full scope of targets involved in the operation.
President Donald Trump has said the campaign is intended to secure “freedom for the people of Iran.” In a video posted on Truth Social, Trump urged Iranians to “take over your government” once military operations conclude, framing the strikes as pressure on Iran’s leadership rather than its civilian population.
Why Schools Are Protected Under International Law
Under international humanitarian law, schools are classified as civilian objects and are afforded special protection during armed conflict.
Legal experts point to several binding legal frameworks:
The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols
Customary International Humanitarian Law
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
These laws prohibit direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, unless such sites are being used for military purposes and the attack meets strict requirements of military necessity and proportionality.
Article 8 of the Rome Statute defines as a war crime:
“Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against civilian objects.”
Even if a civilian site were being misused for military activity, attacking forces are still legally required to:
Verify the target
Issue warnings when feasible
Ensure expected civilian harm is not excessive relative to anticipated military advantage
Children and Heightened Protections
International law provides heightened protection to children during armed conflict. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and related protocols recognize attacks causing mass child casualties as particularly grave violations.
Human rights organizations have consistently stated that strikes killing large numbers of children raise immediate red flags and warrant independent investigation, regardless of the attacking party.
Investigations and Accountability
Legal analysts emphasize that whether a war crime occurred depends on facts not yet publicly established, including:
Whether the school was a verified military target
Whether adequate precautions were taken
Whether the strike complied with proportionality standards
If the reported facts are substantiated, international law experts say the incident could trigger calls for independent investigations, including potential review by UN bodies, international courts, or human rights organizations.
Unverified Claims and Ongoing Developments
Independent verification of the reported strike remains limited, and access for international media in the region has been restricted. The U.S. government has not confirmed details of targets struck during the opening phase of the operation.
Foreign policy analysts warn that the conflict could escalate into a prolonged confrontation, with increased risks to civilians on all sides.
Legal Framework: Why Attacks on Schools May Constitute War Crimes
International humanitarian law provides explicit protections for civilians—and for schools in particular—during armed conflict. Legal experts say that if an elementary school was deliberately targeted, or struck without sufficient military justification and precautions, such an attack may constitute a war crime under multiple binding legal instruments.
Geneva Conventions – Protection of Civilians
The Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), which governs the protection of civilians in time of war, establishes the foundational rule:
Article 3 (Common Article 3):
“Persons taking no active part in the hostilities… shall in all circumstances be treated humanely.”
Children attending school are civilians “taking no active part in hostilities” and are therefore protected persons under the Convention.
Article 27 (Fourth Geneva Convention):
“Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their manners and customs.”
Additional Protocol I – Civilian Objects and Schools
Additional Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Conventions—widely recognized as reflecting customary international law—provides explicit protections for civilian infrastructure.
Article 48 (Basic Rule):
“The Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives.”
Schools are considered civilian objects unless they are being used for military purposes.
Article 52(1):
“Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian objects are all objects which are not military objectives.”
Article 52(2) defines military objectives narrowly:
“Military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action…”
Absent evidence that a school was being used for such purposes, it remains protected.
Proportionality and Precautions
Even when a military objective is present, attacks must meet strict limits.
Article 51(5)(b) (Additional Protocol I):
“An attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life… which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated” is prohibited.
Article 57(2)(a):
“Those who plan or decide upon an attack shall… take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life.”
Special Protection for Children
Children receive additional safeguards under international law.
Article 77(1) (Additional Protocol I):
“Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault.”
Legal scholars interpret “special respect” to include heightened care to avoid harm to children during military operations.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute, which codifies war crimes under international law, reinforces these protections.
Article 8(2)(b)(i):
“Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities.”
Article 8(2)(b)(ii):
“Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives.”
Legal Threshold
International law experts emphasize that determining whether a war crime occurred depends on facts not yet publicly established, including:
Whether the school was used for military purposes
Whether it was intentionally targeted
Whether adequate precautions were taken
Whether civilian harm was proportionate to military advantage
If investigations confirm that a civilian school was struck without lawful justification, legal experts say the incident could fall within the definition of a war crime under international humanitarian law, triggering potential international scrutiny and accountability mechanisms.
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