ABNA24 - Iran’s Foreign Minister said that the objective behind the U.S. and Israeli attack on a school in Minab amounts to genocide, stressing that the scale of atrocities committed goes beyond the terms “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, speaking at an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council held Friday at the request of Iran, China, and Cuba, stated: “The labels ‘war crime’ and ‘crime against humanity’ alone are insufficient to describe the magnitude of the atrocities they are committing. The pattern of targeting by the aggressors, along with their rhetoric, leaves little doubt that their clear intent is to commit genocide.”
He added that the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab was not the only victim of heinous crimes by the United States and Israel over the past 27 days of an illegal war. More than 600 schools across Iran have been destroyed or damaged, resulting in over 1,000 students and teachers killed or injured.
Araghchi noted that aggressors who arrogantly declare “there is no mercy and no respite” and threaten Iran with attacks on vital infrastructure have targeted hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, Red Crescent relief workers, refineries, water resources, and residential areas.
The full text of the foreign minister’s remarks is as follows:
“Distinguished representatives, dear colleagues,
Iran today is in the midst of an illegal war imposed on it by two bullying nuclear regimes, namely the United States and Israel. This aggressive war is clearly devoid of any justification and is profoundly ruthless.
They initiated this aggression on February 28 (March 9, 2026), at a time when Iran and the United States were engaged in a diplomatic process to resolve alleged concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. For the second time in nine months, they betrayed diplomacy by disrupting and derailing the negotiating table.
Among the most horrifying manifestations of this aggression was the calculated and step-by-step attack on the ‘Shajareh Tayyebeh’ elementary school in the city of Minab in southern Iran, where more than 175 students and teachers were deliberately and mercilessly massacred.
This brutal attack is merely the visible tip of a much larger iceberg, beneath which lie far more severe atrocities, including the normalization of the most egregious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, and the audacity to commit heinous crimes in an atmosphere of complete impunity.
Mr. President,
At a time when the U.S. and Israeli aggressors claim to possess the most advanced technologies and the most precise military and data systems, no one can believe that the attack on this school was anything other than a deliberate and premeditated act. Targeting the Shajareh Tayyebeh school constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity—one that requires unequivocal and unconditional condemnation by all, and clear and unambiguous accountability for its perpetrators.
This tragedy is neither justifiable, nor concealable, nor should it be met with silence or indifference. The attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab was neither a mere incident nor a miscalculation. Contradictory statements by the United States aimed at justifying this crime cannot absolve them of responsibility.
Condemning such a ruthless attack on an inherently civilian site, where the most innocent human beings are present in pursuit of knowledge, is not merely a legal obligation under human rights frameworks; it is a moral and humane necessity. Our conscience will judge us far more deeply than any court.
Distinguished representatives,
The Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school was not the only victim of the heinous crimes committed by the United States and Israel over the past 27 days of this illegal war. Human rights and international humanitarian law have been widely and systematically violated in an unprecedented and extremely brutal manner by the aggressors. With no regard for the laws of war or the fundamental principles of humanity and civilization, they have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure.
More than 600 schools across Iran have been destroyed or damaged, and as a result, over 1,000 students and teachers have been killed or injured. Aggressors who arrogantly proclaim ‘there is no mercy and no respite’ and threaten Iran with attacks on vital infrastructure have targeted hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, Red Crescent relief workers, refineries, water resources, and residential areas.
The terms ‘war crime’ and ‘crime against humanity’ alone are insufficient to describe the magnitude of the atrocities they are committing. The pattern of targeting by the aggressors, along with their rhetoric, leaves little doubt that their clear intent is genocide.
Dear colleagues,
This unjust and arbitrary war by the United States and Israel against the noble Iranian nation is the direct result of silence in the face of previous manifestations of lawlessness and crime in occupied Palestine, Lebanon, and elsewhere. Indifference and silence in the face of injustices will never bring security and peace; rather, they will lead to greater insecurity and broader violations of rights.
The United Nations, the fundamental values it represents, and the entire framework of human rights are under serious threat. All of you must explicitly condemn the aggressors and demonstrate that the community of nations and the collective conscience of humanity hold them accountable for the horrific crimes they are committing against the Iranian people.
Iran has never sought war. Iranians are a peace-loving and dignified nation, heirs to one of the richest civilizations in the world. Nevertheless, they have demonstrated full and unwavering determination to defend themselves against ruthless aggressors who recognize no limits in committing crimes—a defense that will continue for as long as necessary.”
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