US/Iran war: 'Wetin be dia crime?' - BBC visit Iran school wia strike kill 120 children

Dis report contain distressing descriptions of di deaths of children.

Amaineh Nademi waka carefully through wetin remain of her old school. Chunks of broken concrete hang dangerously from di damaged upper floor. A few classrooms still dey stand, dia brightly coloured walls decorated with painted balloons and flowers.

Di 33-year-old teacher know exactly wetin bin dey dia - di girls classrooms on di upper floor, di boys classrooms below, di headteacher office, di prayer room.

Rubble na wetin remain of her classroom, wia she bin dey teach first-grade girls for Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School for Minab, a small city for southern Iran.

On 28 February, for di early hours of di US-Israel war against Iran, one air strike hit di school and turn wetin suppose be normal Saturday morning into one of di most painful tragedies of di conflict. Di attack become one of di incidents wey shock pipo pass, and na di single deadliest attack wey kill civilians during di war.

In total, 156 pipo, including 120 children, dey confamed killed, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child, according to di Minab prosecutor office.

According to Minab prosecutor office, a total of 156 people don dey confirmed dead, 120 of dem na children, and one pregnant woman wit her unborn child dey among di casualties.

Experts say evidence show say US forces hit di school, wey dey next to one Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound. Satellite images show say di IRGC compound sef receive several strikes during di attack.

US neva admit responsibility, though US media don report say military investigators believe say e dey likely say US forces carry out di strike unintentionally.

Di pain of wetin happun hia still dey raw. Teachers tell us say dem dey pray for di site evri day. Rescue workers still dey search for remains of dos wey dey killed for hia.

Much of di upper floor collapse into di one below. "You no fit call am school," Amaineh tok – just "walls wey dey smell of death, grief and di blood wey dem shed hia".

Di Iranian authorities bin dey keen for us to visit di school – na evidence, dem tok, say a campaign wey Washington present as an attack on Iran military and security apparatus instead inflict a devastating cost on civilians.

'Dem send all of us flying'

Di school day bin start as usual, Amaineh tok.

Becos e bin be di Islamic holy month of Ramadan, di children gada inside di prayer hall to recite di Quran, she recall, bifor she begin teach her pupils a new letter of di Persian alphabet.

But, as di first attacks of di war unfold across Iran, she say di headteacher announce say di school go close, and teachers begin contact parents, and urge dem to come collect dia children.

Only five of Amaineh 15 first-grade pupils bin remain for her classroom for di upper floor, she tok, wen she first hear an explosion not far from di school. She say she bin dey di corridor and rush back for di children.

"Just as I wan leave, a missile strike di school," Amaineh tok. "Sometin hit my head and my students heads - e send all us flying."

Den, she say, thick black smoke fill di classroom: "I no fit even see di pupils I bin dey hold in my arms. We no fit breathe."

She say she remember hearing anoda explosion, as well as di sounds of screaming, children crying and den di school itself collapse – "destroyed all at once".

"Blood bin dey pour from me and di students," she add.

Wen di smoke briefly clear, she say she pass di injured children down to pipo below and climb pass fire and rubble towards di school gate, wia she see a crowd of parents. Many bin don rush to di site without even wearing dia shoes, she recall.

She say she no fit understand why di parents bin dey run towards di school, believing in her shock and confusion say evei bodi else bin don already escape di building: "I no know say all of dem bin dey under di rubble."

Amaineh don teach first grade for di school for six years. She list di names of students and colleagues killed dat day: Adrina from her first grade class, wey she say bin dey killed on di stairs with her mother, Fatemeh in second grade, and many odas including students for sixth grade wey she remember teaching di alphabet to, as well as di headteacher, deputy head, PE teacher and Quran teacher.

'Find my son'

Within minutes, emergency workers begin arrive.

Reza Besharati, a worker with di Iranian Red Crescent Society, say he bin dey among di first rescuers on di scene, and find say di roads near di school bin dey filled with traffic as desperate families rush to look for dia children.

Minab na small city. As Reza make im way through di crowd and into di wreckage, e say e recognise pipo e know, including some of im own relatives.

"We start to find di pipo, thinking maybe someone go dey alive," e tok. "But unfortunately, nobody bin dey alive."

E say dem find di dead badly disfigured: "Maybe just a hand, maybe just a leg… Nobody get complete body." Many families recognise dia children by dia shoes or clothing, e add.

One of Reza relatives bin dey search and beg pipo "just find my pikin, find my son", e tok. "I no fit tell her say her son no dey alive. All of us bin dey cry."

Reza say di sights e see while searching di collapsed building neva leave am: "I no fit sleep for a few days," e tok. "Wen I close my eyes… I just remember di tins wey I see hia."

Strike investigated

As details of di strike come out, President Donald Trump first blame Iran, without providing evidence.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say di military dey investigate and say US forces "no eva target civilian targets". E later announce a higher-level investigation, led by an officer from outside US Central Command (Centcom). Di Trump administration neva still release di findings.

Several US media outlets don report - citing pipo wey dey familiar with di US military investigation - say preliminary findings conclude say e dey likely say na outdated data wey di US Defence Intelligence Agency supply na im lead to di school being treated as part of a military site.

Expert video analysis don show di IRGC complex next to di school bin dey hit by a precision guided Tomahawk missile - a type of cruise missile wey neither Israel nor Iran dey known to possess. Satellite imagery show di school and several buildings for di compound dey hit, and verified videos show say di area bin dey hit by a series of strikes. US military maps also confam American operations for southern Iran – including di Minab area - at di time.

Historical satellite images show di school area bin previously be part of di IRGC complex, but e don dey walled off since 2016 and e get im own entrances and yards.

Also, information wey indicate say di site na school bin dey publicly available online. Archived snapshots of di websites for di girls and boys sections of di school – taken in di months bifor di attack - include di address of di site.

Di head of Centcom tell a congressional committee in May, without giving further detail, say di investigation dey "complex" as di school bin dey "on an active IRGC cruise missile base" – wey Iran foreign ministry reject as a "baseless fabrication".

Di IRGC dey run some community and medical facilities in addition to dia extensive military, security and economic activities. Local residents don tell BBC Persia say di site bin previously be a base for an IRGC naval brigade, but say dem believe say di military use don stop several years ago. Photographs show buildings for di compound include a clinic and a car wash.

Di BBC approach di Department of Defense and di US military for comment. Officials say di investigation dey ongoing and no further updates dey.

'Identified by her socks'

A short drive from di ruined school na di cemetery wia many of di pupils and teachers dey buried.

Evri evening, families dey gada beside di graves. Mothers go wipe dust from di photographs of dia children. Parents go sidon and pray long afta darkness don fall.

Around dem, brothers and sisters dey play between di headstones of siblings wey lives don dey cut short.

Masoumeh Mehran Shekhabadi dey come visit her nine-year-old daughter, Setayesh, evri day, often staying long into di night.

She dey among di parents wey run go di school afta di strike. "No school bin dey dia, " she tok as her voice dey break. "Na only smoke bin dey, children hair, a hand on one side, a foot on di ida side . Dem bin dey torn to pieces."

Masoumeh add: "I bin dey call out, not only to Setayesh, but to all di children: 'Children, wia una dey?'"

Setayesh family bin no receive confamation of her death until di early hours of di following morning, Masoumeh tok. She remember how dem ask her repeatedly wetin be di colour of socks di pikin bin wear, and she reply say na cream colour Setayesh bin dey identified by her socks, she tok.

Di nine-year-old bin wan be a teacher, her mother add. "She go line up her dolls on di couch and say: 'I be your teacher. I dey primary school now, so I be teacher.'"

As for many parents hia, grief don join with anger. "Make Trump dey destroyed, so dis children blood no go dey wasted," Masoumeh tok.

'Dem bin go learn'

Iran govment don repeatedly invoke Minab in speeches, international forums and state media coverage - even naming a plane wey carry negotiators "Minab-168", in reference to di death toll officials bin previously give.

Di attack offer di Islamic Republic a powerful counter-narrative to Washington description of dia campaign.

Di war don divide Iranians. Some bin celebrate wen di air strikes begin, angered by di govment history of detaining dissidents and using lethal force during repeated waves of protest. Dem bin hope say military pressure from outside fit finally weaken or even bring down di regime.

Some opponents of di govment don tell di BBC say dem see di strike at Minab as a huge blow. E make di idea of a clean, surgical war impossible to sustain and allow di authorities to present demsefs as di defenders of di Iranian pipo against foreign attack.

For Minab, Amaineh visit di cemetery, as she waka among di graves of her former pupils.

On a nearby memorial wall na di faces of di children, staff and parents wey comit from dia house dat morning and no eva return.

Setayesh mother still dey sidon beside di grave of her little girl.

"Wetin be dis children crime? Dem carry weapons? A pencil, a book, a notebook and a schoolbag. Dem no get any weapons… Dem bin go learn," she tok.

Additional reporting by Jasmin Dyer

Nawal Al-Maghafi dey report from Iran on condition say none of her material dey used on di BBC Persian Service. Dis restrictions apply to all international media organisations wey dey operate in Iran.