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 na di Islamic holy month of Ramadan, di children bin gada inside di prayer hall to recite di Quran, she remember, bifor she begin teach her pupils one new letter of di Persian alphabet.

But as di first attack of di war begin happen for across Iran, she say di headteacher bin announce say dem go close di school, and teachers begin call parents say make dem come carry dia children go house.

Only five of Amaineh 15 first-grade pupils bin remain for her di school, she tok. She says she bin dey di corridor and rush back for di children.

"Just as I wan leave, one 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 for my arms. We no fit breathe."

She tok say she still remember as she hear another explosion, plus sound of pipo wey dey scream, children wey dey cry, bifor di school ollapse completely, as if evritin just scatter at once and destroy finish.

"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, one worker wit di Iranian Red Crescent Society, say e bin dey among di first rescuers on di scene, and find say traffic full di roads close to di school 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 body of di pipo wey die badly disfigured: "Maybe just hand, or leg… Nobody get complete body." Many families recognise dia children by dia shoes or clothing, e add.

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

Reza say di things wey im see as dem dey search through di collapsed building neva comot for im mind. "I no fit sleep for some days," e tok. "Any time wey I close my eyes, na all these terrible things wey I see hia dey come back to my memory."

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 higher-level investigation, wey one officer from outside US Central Command (Centcom) lead.

Di Trump administration neva still release di results of di findings.

Several US media houses don report, based on wetin pipo wey sabi about di US military investigation tell dem, say di first findings show say e likely be old and outdated information wey di US Defence Intelligence Agency provide wey make dem mistakenly treat di school as part of one military site.

Expert video analysis don show say di IRGC compound wey dey beside di school receive hit from one precision-guided Tomahawk missile.

Tomahawk na one type of cruise missile wey, as far as pipo know, neither Israel nor Iran get am for dia arsenal. Satellite images show say di school and some buildings inside di compound suffer attack, while verified videos confam say several strikes hit di area.

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.

Information wey show say di place na school dey there publicly online. Old copies of di girls' and boys' school websites, wey dem save some months bifor di attack, even carry di exact address of di school.

Di head of CENTCOM tell one US congressional committee for May say di investigation "complex", but e no give plenty details. Dem tok say di school bin dey "on an active IRGC cruise missile base." Iran foreign ministry reject dat claim sharply, call am "baseless fabrication" wey no get any truth.

Apart from military work, di IRGC dey also run some community and health facilities alongside dia security and economic activities.

Local residents tell BBC Persian say dem dey use di place as base for one IRGC naval brigade bifor, but dem believe say di military activities for there bin don stop some years ago.

Fotos from di compound show say some of di buildings there include one clinic and one car wash.

BBC contact di US Department of Defense plus di American military for comment. Officials reply say di investigation still dey on, and dem no get any new update to give for now.

'Identified by her socks'

One short drive from di ruined school na di cemetery wia dem bury many of di pupils and teachers.

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

Around dem, brothers and sisters dey play between di graves of dia siblings wey die to early, dia young lives cut short by di tragedy.

Masoumeh Mehran Shekhabadi dey come visit her nine-year-old daughter, Setayesh, evri day, and she go stay long into di night.

She dey among di parents wey ruh to di school afta di strike. "School no dey," she tok as her voice dey break. "Na only smoke, children hair, one hand on one side, one leg on di oda. Dem scata dem to pieces."

Masoumeh add: "I "I dey shout call dem, no be only Setayesh I dey call, but all di children: 'Children, una dey where?'"

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 her child wear, and she reply say na cream colour. Dem identify Setayesh by her socks, she tok.

Di nine-year-old bin wan be 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.'"

Like many parents for there, deep sorrow and anger don mix for dia hearts. "Make Trump perish, so dat di blood of these children no go waste," Masoumeh tok.

'Dem bin go learn'

Iran govment don mention Minab many times for speeches, international meetings and for state media reports. Dem even name one plane wey carry negotiators "Minab-168", based on di death toll wey officials bin first announce.

Di attack don give di Islamic Republic one strong story to use take challenge how Washington take describe di military campaign. In other words, while the US dey present the operation from its own side, Iran dey point to wetin happen for Minab as evidence of the human suffering and civilian deaths caused by the conflict.

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 war don divide Iranians. Some bin celebrate wen di air strikes begin, as dem vex sake of govment history of detaining oppositions 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 for Minab as huge blow. E make di idea of 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 one nearby memorial wall na di faces of di children, staff and parents wey comot from dia houses dat morning and no eva return.

Setayesh mother still dey siddon 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.