Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has condemned what he described as a “barbaric” attack on a girls’ primary school in the southern city of Minab, following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory.
In a statement carried by state media, Pezeshkian called the bombing “another black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.” He said Iran would “never forget this act of extermination.”
According to Iranian reports, the strike on the school in Hormuzgan Province killed at least 85 people, many of them students, and injured dozens more.
The president said he had directed all relevant officials and emergency services to mobilize full resources to assist victims and their families.
The escalation came after recent nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington failed to produce a breakthrough. A second round of negotiations on February 17 ended without progress, followed by a third round in Geneva on February 26 under US President Donald Trump’s administration. The talks were widely viewed as a final opportunity for a diplomatic solution, but no agreement was reached, as Iran declined to halt uranium enrichment, dismantle nuclear facilities, or accept indefinite restrictions on its nuclear program.
Following the stalled negotiations, the United States significantly increased its military presence near Iran, deploying more than 150 aircraft to bases across Europe and the Middle East.
On the morning of February 28, Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes on Iranian targets from land, sea, and air, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions and raising fears of a broader regional conflict.