Mass funeral of more than 160 killed in Iran school

Kathmandu. A mass funeral has been held for students and teachers who were killed in a joint attack on a school by the United States and Israel in the southern Iranian city of Minab on Saturday. The school was also damaged in a series of attacks on Iran’s military bases and leadership.

According to Iranian media, more than 160 people have been killed in the attack. The school in Minab was located about 600 meters from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military camp. Three missiles hit the school building on Saturday as it was a weekday in Iran.

Footage broadcast on state television showed thousands of mourners taking to the streets to pay their respects. The atmosphere was poignant as small boxes draped with Iran’s national flag were carried through the crowds.

Iran’s President Massoud Pezeskian described the attack as “barbaric” and added another “black page” to the attackers’ records. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi posted a photo of a mass grave digging on social media, saying that this is the reality of US President Donald Trump’s rescue operation.

The exact number of deaths could not be independently confirmed because of visa constraints for international news outlets travelling to Iran, but the BBC confirmed some video footage from the scene that showed smoke billowing and people screaming after the blast.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would never deliberately target schools. “It is not in the interest or interest of the United States to attack civilian infrastructure,” he said.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it was taking the incident seriously and was working to understand the issue further. The Israeli military said it was not aware of any military operations in the area.