US-Israeli war on Iran kills nearly 200 children as Trump dodges blame for elementary school strike
Debris analysis has determined that the Minab school massacre was caused by US Tomahawk missiles, which Trump claims were 'launched by Iran'
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani revealed on 10 March that at least 193 infants and children have been killed in the 11 days since the US and Israel launched an unprovoked war on Iran, including an eight-month-old girl, the youngest victim since the start of the aggression.
Mohajerani said the strikes have killed 206 women and children in total, including the 193 minors, adding that a four-month-old girl is the youngest person injured so far.
According to Iranian authorities, the overall death toll since the assault began has surpassed 1,200 people, including Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, while more than 10,000 others have been wounded.
“We did not begin the war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Mohajerani said, adding that Iranian authorities are preparing for multiple military scenarios while continuing defensive operations.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran targeted schools, hospitals, sports facilities, heritage sites, residential neighborhoods, and other civilian infrastructure.
Some of the earliest casualties occurred during the opening hours of the attacks on 28 February, when a strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school reportedly killed more than 170 people, at least 165 of them children.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on 9 March that debris recovered near the site of the elementary school massacre in Minab included fragments of a US-made cruise missile, based on analysis of photographs from the site.
Serial numbers and labels visible on the debris match identification systems used in the US Department of Defense supply chain, the report said.
US President Donald Trump deflected blame for the strike onto Iran itself, claiming that the Islamic Republic acquired US Tomahawk missiles through some illicit means and used them to bomb the school.
“No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” repeating the claim despite mounting evidence of direct US involvement in the massacre.
In Lebanon, persistent violent Israeli strikes across the country have killed at least 486 people, including over 80 children, and 1,313 wounded in just over one week.
The systemic targeting of civilians mirrors the lethal pattern first seen in Gaza, where the deliberate targeted attacks on schools, shelters, and hospitals have resulted in the confirmed death of at least 20,179 children since October 2023.