Children killed, a school turned into a graveyard: even in wartime, we can’t accept this

There are rules and world leaders must insist they be honoured in practice and in spirit. After this atrocity in Iran, a more effective tribunal for crimes against children is essential

Gordon Brown

The killing of a reported 168 people, primarily schoolgirls, in the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab in Iran has shaken to its very core the conscience of the world.

The attack, carried out nearly two weeks ago when classes were under way, reduced the school building to rubble. Parents who had sent their daughters to school discovered minutes later that classrooms had become mass graves.

One mother, whose daughter Zeinab had memorised the Quran and was due to compete in a national recitation contest, wept as she said: “My dream died with her.” A UN human rights panel has already demanded that the killings must be “Urgently, independently and effectively investigated, with accountability for any violations”.

Which country is responsible for the massacre has been disputed. Over the weekend Donald Trump disclaimed any culpability on the part of the US. “We think it was done by Iran, because they’re very inaccurate with their munitions” he said on Air Force One.

But on Monday, a BBC investigation produced evidence of multiple US Tomahawk missiles fired and landing in the vicinity of the school, hitting, they believe, the school itself, as well as a medical clinic reportedly belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The BBC found no evidence of a separate Iranian-fired missile landing at the site. Despite this, Trump doubled down, saying: “Numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us.” But according to provisional and as yet unofficial reports on Wednesday, US Central Command may have created target coordinates for the strike from outdated information.

On whoever the blame finally lies, the school massacre is no isolated event. Reportedly, on the same day, the bombing of another school, the Hedayat high school in the Narmak district in Tehran, left two students dead…

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/12/children-killed-school-graveyard-wartime-iran

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