Tehran, Feb 28 (.) The death toll from a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, has risen to 40, with another 48 injured, Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday. The previous toll had stood at 24. The fatalities marked the first confirmed deaths in Iran following the ongoing US-Israel military operation.
The girls’ school in Hormozgan Province was hit amid a series of airstrikes first reported in Tehran and later across the country. Minab also hosts a base of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).
Following the attacks, US President Donald Trump urged Iranians to “seize control of your destiny” and rise against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed this sentiment, saying, “Our joint operation will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.”
In response to the US-Israel strikes, Iran’s IRGC launched missile attacks on four US military bases across the Middle East, according to state-affiliated media. The targeted bases included Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar), Al Salem Air Base (Kuwait), Al Dhafra Air Base (UAE), and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters (Bahrain). Videos circulating online showed smoke rising from the Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, which a US official described as “active.” Explosions were also reported in Dubai and other Gulf cities hosting US bases.
The Pentagon and US Department of Defense have named the joint operation “Operation Epic Fury.” Last year, a similar strike against Iranian nuclear facilities was codenamed “Operation Midnight Hammer.”
President Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations” against Iran, pledging to degrade the country’s military capabilities and dismantle its nuclear program. In an eight-minute video posted on Truth Social, Trump accused Iran of rejecting all opportunities to renounce nuclear ambitions, saying the US “can’t take it anymore.”
Meanwhile, Israel launched pre-emptive strikes under the codename “Roaring Lion.” Unlike previous operations in June, these strikes began in daylight and are expected to continue for several days. Explosions have been reported in multiple Iranian cities, including Tehran, near the compound housing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian media reported that Tehran retaliated by launching dozens of ballistic missiles toward Israel, with the Israeli military intercepting incoming threats.
. MI .