Iran Slams US School Strike Explanation as 'Baseless Fabrication'

(MENAFN) Iran on Wednesday flatly rejected the US military's account of a strike on an elementary school in the southern city of Minab, branding Washington's justification a deliberate lie as the death toll from the February attack — overwhelmingly children — continues to fuel international outrage.

Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, took direct aim at US Central Command (CENTCOM), accusing it of cynically misrepresenting the nature of the targeted site to deflect accountability.

"The claim by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) that the targeted #Shajareh_Tayyebeh Elementary School in #Minab was located within a "missile launch facility" is a baseless fabrication and an appalling lie," Baqaei said on US social media company X.

His broadside followed testimony by CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper before a House committee, in which he acknowledged the school's proximity to an active IRGC (Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) cruise missile base — describing the circumstances as "more complex than the average strike" — while pledging full transparency pending the conclusion of an investigation.

Iranian officials say the February 28 strike killed more than 170 people, the vast majority of them children. Baqaei dismissed any attempt to reframe those deaths in military terms.

"This shameless distortion is a clear attempt to obscure the severe reality of the 28 February missile attacks, which resulted in the tragic slaughtering of over 170 school children and their teachers," Baqaei said.

'A Clear War Crime'
The Iranian spokesman escalated further, characterizing the strike as a breach of international law and demanding that those who ordered it face consequences.

"Targeting an active educational institution during school hours constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and is a clear war crime. The civilian nature of the site cannot be obscured by technical misrepresentations.

"The military commanders and United States authorities responsible for ordering and executing this catastrophic assault must be held fully accountable under international law," he added.

Conflict Background
The exchange unfolds against a broader arc of regional escalation that began when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. Tehran responded with retaliatory attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf states and closed the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

A ceasefire, brokered through Pakistani mediation, took hold on April 8, though subsequent negotiations in Islamabad failed to yield a lasting framework. US President Donald Trump subsequently extended the truce indefinitely.

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