185 Iranian schoolgirls now reported dead in US/Israeli missile attack

PREMIUM TIMES reported the strike at a girls’ elementary school in Minab, in the Hormozgan province of Southern Iran.

The death toll from the US and Israeli strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school has now risen to 185.

CNN reports that the toll had moved from 95 to 118 to 185 as emergency workers continued to clear the wreckage and identify more victims.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the strike at a girls’ elementary school in Minab, in the Hormozgan province of Southern Iran.

Five pupils were initially reported killed on Saturday, before the toll began to rise steadily.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared a photo of the attack, declaring that the US and Israel destroyed the girls’ school and killed “innocent children.”

“These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered,” Mr Araghchi wrote in a post on X.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also condemned the “blatant crime” and called for the intervention of the United Nations Security Council.

CNN reported that it geolocated the site of the wreckage and found that the elementary school is 61 meters from an Iranian military base.

It reported that the school appeared to have been formally part of the base but had been separated since at least 2016.

The US Central Command spokesperson, Tim Hawkins, confirmed that the US is aware of the attack and has begun “looking into them.”

“The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm,” he said.

In Tehran, thousands gathered in the streets to mourn the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who was killed in a US and Israeli missile attack on Saturday. They were largely clad in black and carried Iranian flags and Mr Khamenei’s photo.

Some other Iranians, particularly those in the Diaspora, however, celebrated Mr Khamenei’s death. Iran has a large diaspora community, mainly in Western countries, who are opposed to its leadership. Many of such Diasporans have advocated a change in government in Iran.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that a three-person will temporarily govern Iran following the death of Mr Khamenei.

The council, made up of President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, as well as a member of the Guardian Council, will assume responsibility for the transitional phase.