Marco Rubio: America does not deliberately target schools
Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the United States does not deliberately target a school, following reports by Iranian state media of more than 160 people killed in an attack on a girls’ elementary school in the city of Minab.
This attack, attributed to the first day of joint U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran, has been described as the deadliest reported incident in these conflicts.
UNESCO and Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, have condemned the attack. Mr. Rubio said that if the reports are accurate, the U.S. Department of Defense will investigate the matter, and the U.S. Central Command has also announced that it is reviewing reports concerning civilian casualties.
According to Reuters, Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN special representative for peacebuilding, called these reports very tragic but emphasized that no independent details are available.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, also stated that different reports about the perpetrator of this attack have been published, including a claim of the involvement of the Revolutionary Guards. Reuters has stressed that it has not been able to independently verify these reports.