A devastating airstrike has claimed the lives of at least 85 individuals at an elementary school in southern Iran, as confirmed by Tehran’s judiciary. This tragic incident occurred in the city of Minab, located in Hormozgan province, when missiles hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school.

According to state-controlled news agencies Tasnim and Fars, the majority of those killed were schoolgirls, aged between seven and twelve years. The attack took place on a Saturday morning amidst a series of strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

However, sources within Iran have advised caution regarding the regime’s reports, suggesting they may be part of a larger propaganda effort amidst the ongoing conflict, as reported by the Daily Mail.

In a harrowing account shared with Middle East Eye, a teacher from the school described the aftermath of the attack. Having left the school temporarily, she returned to find the scene of devastation, with bodies strewn across classroom benches.

This tragic event underscores the severe impact of the conflict on civilians, particularly vulnerable children, and adds yet another layer of complexity to the situation in the region.

She had left the school to take care of something when she heard the blast. When she arrived back she saw carnage.

‘I felt like I had gone mute. I couldn’t speak,’ she said. ‘You could hear the sound of children crying and screaming.’

There were 170 girls at the school at the time of the attack as Saturday is the first day of the working week in Iran.

Iran has vowed to retaliate after the US and Israel launched an attack on the country this morning. Iranian state television broadcasted the devastation after the attack

Footage shared on Telegram by accounts linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps showed citizens digging through the rubble and smoke rising from the school building.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who has been leading negotiations with Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, seized on the news.

‘The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils,’ he posted on X.

‘Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone.’ 

The US military, in a joint operation with Israel, launched tomahawk missiles on Iran with Air Force and Navy jets.

Iran responded to the aggression by launching ‘revenge strikes’ on US military bases across the Middle East.

Tehran has struck the Fifth Fleet service center in Manama, Bahrain, and claims to have hit bases across the region including in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Other US regional allies, including Iraq and Jordan, have also reported various missile activity from Iran.

The president warned that US troops could lose their lives in the operation, adding that ‘we may have casualties.’ The current casualties resulting from Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases remains unclear. 

Trump is already facing intense political backlash for hurling the US into a new war, with history rife with the disastrous consequences of Middle East conflicts.

Conservative podcasting titan Tucker Carlson branded Trump’s attack ‘absolutely disgusting and evil’ as the president’s MAGA base fractured. 

Carlson’s break with Trump signals that the decision to plunge the US into a major war with Iran could carry legacy-altering consequences for the president. 

Tucker Carlson is calling out Trump for his ‘disgusting and evil’ military strike on Iran

Carlson’s attack on Trump comes just a week after the conservative commentator met with the president in the White House 

Carlson is a major political ally of Vice President JD Vance

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene issued a statement denouncing the president, claiming he is betraying voters who supported him for ending foreign wars.

‘Thousands and thousands of Americans from my generation have been killed and injured in never ending pointless foreign wars and we said no more. But we are freeing the Iranian people. Please,’ the former GOP lawmaker wrote on Saturday.

‘There are 93 million people in Iran, let them liberate themselves. But Iran is on the verge of having nuclear weapons. Yeah sure.’

Carlson spoke with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee a week before the strikes on Iran, where the pair sparred over their differing views on Israel.

Trump has stated that the US may have casulties from the war with Tehran 

In the weeks leading up to the US strike on Iran, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee debated Carlson 

Huckabee made controversial comments during the interview that drew disapproval from US Gulf allies.

Carlson stated that, according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham are entitled to land that today encompasses much of the Middle East.

In response to whether Israel had a right to take over the entire region, Huckabee said: ‘It would be fine if they took it all’.

Huckabee then added that Israel was not seeking to expand its territory and has a right to maintain security on the land it legitimately holds.

His words provoked a heated international condemnation from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.