At least 200 killed in Iran, including 115 girls

The Iranian Red Crescent announced on Saturday morning that at least 200 people were killed in the attacks launched by the US and Israel. The strikes, which began in the early hours of February 28, targeted several key locations, including the residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, high-ranking Iranian officials were not the only casualties. In the attacks carried out by the US and Israel, at least 115 girls died when the Shahare Tayyebeh school in the Minab district of Hormozgan province was hit. Witnesses reported seeing the lifeless bodies of girls aged between 7 and 12 lying inside their school.

According to the city's mayor, at least 115 people—almost all of them schoolgirls—lost their lives in the airstrike on the elementary school located in southern Iran. Iran's Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that the victims were between the ages of 7 and 12.

A staff member at the Minab school, who requested anonymity, told Middle East Eye that she remains in shock over the severity of the attack. The woman stated that she had stepped out of the school to run an errand when she suddenly heard a terrifying noise. Within seconds, a missile—or something similar—struck the school building.

She rushed back toward the school after hearing the blast and encountered a scene she says she will never forget: "You could hear the children crying and screaming."

"We still don't know how many people are under the rubble. Some say it's more than 100. Some of these children are in critical condition. Their families have come to the school, and it has turned into a house of mourning."

The airstrike on the school left many inside trapped under the debris. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Iran vows revenge

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack on X, stating that the deaths of the children "will not go unanswered."

In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel. Additionally, various targets in the region were hit, including the US Navy in Bahrain. In the United Arab Emirates, at least four people were injured at a luxury hotel in Dubai, and one civilian died in Abu Dhabi due to debris following an "attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles."

A "special and permanent state of emergency" has been declared in Israel.