Fact-Check: "Many children were killed in the bombing of the Iranian school"

Verification Analysis

The claim is ACCURATE.

This claim refers to the Shajarah Tayyebeh girls' primary school in Minab, southern Iran, which was struck by American Tomahawk cruise missiles on the morning of February 28, 2026—the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Reasoning:

• Casualty figures confirm significant child deaths: Iranian authorities reported that at least 110 school children (66 boys and 54 girls) were among 168 total deaths at the school, along with 26 teachers and four parents. A later announcement included images of 119 children killed¹². International monitoring organizations estimate between 165-180 people died, most of them girls aged seven to twelve³.

• The strike was acknowledged by U.S. forces: The Pentagon has acknowledged that American forces were "likely responsible" for the strike, attributing it to a "targeting error rooted in stale intelligence data"³. The Washington Post reported that the school building was on a U.S. target list and may have been mistaken for a military site because Defense Intelligence Agency databases still classified it as a military facility from when it was part of an adjacent IRGC naval compound, despite having been converted to a school between 2013-2016².

• UNICEF verification: UNICEF reported that more than 1,100 children were injured or killed across the conflict, with 200 reportedly killed in Iran².

• This incident represents the single deadliest child casualty event: The Minab school strike accounts for roughly 83% of all children killed in Iran since the war began, making it the most significant incident of child deaths in the conflict³.

• International condemnation: UNESCO called for protection of schools, stating "The killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning constitutes a grave violation of the protection afforded to schools under international humanitarian law"¹. Eight UN experts called for independent investigation of the attack².

Minor caveats: The exact number of child casualties varies between sources (110 per Iranian authorities vs. estimates of 165-180 total dead, mostly children). Some reports refer to the school as a girls' primary school, while casualty reports mention both boys and girls. Amnesty International noted they could not independently corroborate the exact number of deaths due to internet blackouts and lack of access².

Overall validity: 95%

1. The Strait of Hormuz is closed
2. Pope Leo XIV stated that children are among the rising deaths in the Iran war
3. There is an ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran in the Middle East