By Ashiru Taofeek Adewale
The death toll from an attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran has climbed to 85, the Iranian judiciary reported on Saturday, as the Islamic Republic reels from a wave of joint U.S.-Israeli military operations that have dramatically escalated regional tensions.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online website quoted the local prosecutor’s office in Minab, stating, “The number of martyrs at the girls’ school in Minab has increased to 85.” The strike on the school, reported on Saturday, is part of an ongoing campaign of operations across Iran that has drawn sharp condemnation and vows of retaliation from Tehran.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said rescue workers were still clearing debris from the school site, where the strike caused heavy civilian casualties. The attack has become a central symbol of what Iran describes as indiscriminate aggression.
In a stark post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared a photo of the damaged building, stating it had killed “innocent children.” He issued a direct warning: “These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the strike as a “blatant crime” and reiterated calls for the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action.
The violence is not confined to the south. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that at least two students were killed in a separate Israeli strike on a school east of Tehran, suggesting a coordinated campaign targeting civilian infrastructure.
The reports of civilian casualties have fueled Iranian accusations that the U.S. and Israel are violating international law. Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Vall, reporting from Tehran, highlighted the contradiction between recent American messaging and the unfolding events on the ground.
“President Trump has promised the Iranian people that aid or help is coming their way, but now we are seeing civilian casualties; that’s something that the Iranian government will stress as a case of violation of international law and an aggression against the Iranian people,” Vall said.
As of Saturday evening, neither the United States nor Israel had issued an immediate response to Iran’s specific claims regarding the school strikes.
The escalating military confrontation is sending shockwaves across the region. In a significant sign of the widening fear of conflict, Bahrain announced that all schools and universities would shutter and switch to long-distance learning until further notice.
The Bahraini Ministry of Education said in a statement that the decision was taken “as a precautionary measure and to ensure the safety of students in educational institutions.” The order, effective starting Sunday, applies to “all early childhood education institutions, public and private schools and higher education institutions.”
The move by Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, underscores the acute anxiety among Gulf states that they could be drawn into a direct conflict between Iran and a U.S.-led coalition. With Iran vowing a decisive response and civilian casualties mounting, the region appears to be on the brink of a major and prolonged confrontation.
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