Live: Strike on Iranian girls’ school kills 50 as US-Israel bomb Tehran
Live Updates
Good morning, Middle East Eye readers.
If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of the latest developments across the region:
US-Israeli attack
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The US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran shortly after 9:30am local time (6am GMT).
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the objective was regime change, while US President Donald Trump called on Iranians to rise up and take control of their government.
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The joint strikes targeted government and military sites across the country.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly been moved to a secure location, according to a Reuters source.
Iranian response
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Nearly an hour after the strikes began, Iran launched retaliatory rocket attacks.
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Explosions were heard across Israel, including in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, as air defence systems responded to incoming projectiles.
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Iran also targeted US military bases in the region, with strikes reported in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Manama, Doha and Kuwait. Blasts were also heard in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Dubai Airports has confirmed that all flight operations at Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International (DWC) are suspended until further notice.
The Dubai Media Office advised passengers not to travel to the airports and to contact their airlines directly for the latest updates on flights.
“We appreciate the cooperation of our guests. Further updates will be provided as we continue to monitor the situation,” the statement added.
Dubai Airports confirms that all flight operations at Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) are suspended until further notice.
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 28, 2026
Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport at this time and to contact their respective airlines…
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has condemned the air strike that hit a girls’ primary school in southern Iran, reportedly killing at least 51 people.
“The destroyed building is a primary school for girls,” Araghchi said on X, “bombed in broad daylight when it was packed with young pupils. Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone.”
He added that “these crimes against the Iranian people will not go unanswered".
The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone.
These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered. pic.twitter.com/AVqiuolgWm
British opposition parties have urged the Labour government to join the US and Israeli attack on Iran after it emerged that British bases were not used in the initial strikes.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official told Middle East Eye that the British government had been informed of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday morning, the government confirmed that the UK had not participated in the attacks.
Government officials are monitoring the unfolding war in Whitehall, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, attended by ministers, military leaders and intelligence specialists.
However, opposition politicians have begun clamouring for the UK to enter the conflict.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, wrote on X: "The Prime Minister needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!"
Read more: Reform's Farage urges entry into war after UK bases not used in strikes on Iran
Hossein, who lives in eastern Tehran, says his parents’ home was completely destroyed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.
Struggling to hold back tears, he tells MEE: “The last time I spoke to my parents was last night. I had asked them many times to leave Tehran. I told them that since they are retired, they should at least go to the north for now.
“But they refused. They said this is not a life - leaving our home every couple of days.”
Hossein does not live with his parents. He says that when he read the news this morning and heard the explosions, he tried calling them. He called again and again, but no one answered.
He does not know what has happened to them. “I just hope for a miracle,” he says.
At that point, he breaks down in tears and cannot continue speaking. His parents live in the Narmak neighbourhood of Tehran - the same neighborhood that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president, has been known to reside.
Narmak has been targeted by strikes since early this morning.
A senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Tehran’s response to the joint US and Israeli attacks “continues with no set timeframe.”
“Our options in responding are broad and diverse; the war may be prolonged, and Israel’s ambitions will not be realised,” the official said, adding that targeting Iranian political leaders “will not go unanswered” and that all political targets are now within the scope of Iran’s response.
He warned that there are “no red lines in defending our country” and that “targeting schools and civilians will be met in kind,” declaring that “everything American or Israeli has become a legitimate target for the Iranian armed forces.”
The official also said that Tehran is holding “intensive contacts with regional countries to prevent the collapse of regional security.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said his country refused to be dragged into regional war.
"I reiterate that we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity," Salam said on X.
"In light of the serious developments unfolding in the region, I once again call on all Lebanese to act with wisdom and patriotism, placing Lebanon and the Lebanese people's interests above any other consideration," he added.
Just before the US and Israel began its major attacks on Iran on Saturday, Israel announced it was carrying out strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in south Lebanon.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strikes had targeted mountainous areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
President Joseph Aoun said that "sparing Lebanon the disasters and horrors of external conflicts, and preserving its sovereignty, security and stability, are an absolute priority".
In a post on X, United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert urged "all parties in Lebanon" to "prioritise, in words and actions, the need to shield the country and its people from unfolding regional developments".
Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, was expected to deliver a speech on Saturday but it was postponed due to "recent developments".
Qassem has previously said that Hezbollah is in a "defensive position", but it would consider itself "targeted" by any US attack on Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has strongly condemned the ongoing US and Israeli attacks on Iran, calling them “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.”
In a post on X, Araghchi accused US President Donald Trump of turning “America First” into “Israel First - which always means America Last.”
He added that Iran’s armed forces are ready to respond, warning that they will “teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve.”
Netanyahu and Trump's war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
Trump has turned 'America First' into 'Israel First'—which always means 'America Last'.
Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve pic.twitter.com/xhiWydMyXy
At least 51 people have been killed after an Israeli strike hit a school in Iran, local officials told Tasnim News Agency.
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 28, 2026
MEE’s correspondent reported that the attack occurred at around 11:30 am local time, striking Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, in southern Iran pic.twitter.com/WN7r5M14Y9
Oman's foreign minister, who had been mediating US-Iran talks, condemned US and Israeli attacks on Iran, urged Washington to avoid getting "sucked in further" into a war that is not theirs.
"I am dismayed. Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined," Badr Albusaidi said in a statement on X.
"Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer.
"I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war."
The death toll from an air strike on a girls’ school in Iran has risen to 51, state media reported.
The attack on Saturday morning hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab city in the southern Hormozgan province. The victims were between seven and 12 years old, according to Iran's Tasnim and Fars news agencies.
Four people have been killed and several others wounded after an Iranian missile struck a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on Saturday, the state news agency Sana said.
Other missile debris fell in the city of Quneitra and the Yarmouk Basin in Daraa province in southern Syria, according to Reuters witnesses and videos shared by residents.
The sounds of warplanes were heard repeatedly in the skies over Syria on Saturday, after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Dozens of interceptor missiles were seen in the skies over Damascus.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi on Saturday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.
Lavrov condemned what the ministry described as an "unprovoked armed attack" by the US and Israel on Iran, and urged an immediate halt to the strikes.
The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Kurdish-Iranian group, has told MEE it seeks to turn the current conflict into an opportunity.
"The main cause of the war is the Islamic Republic of Iran," a spokesperson for PJAK's diplomatic committee said.
"The current situation contains both opportunity and threat. We are trying to turn it into an opportunity."
You can stay up to date with the latest analysis on the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and what happens next by watching MEE's live show. The link is below.
