At least 40 people were killed and 45 others wounded after a joint U.S.–Israeli air strike struck a girls’ school in Minab, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Authorities did not immediately release details about the identities of those killed.

Minab is known to host a base belonging to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. However, the strike on an educational institution has sparked outrage and raised urgent questions about civilian protection and the proportionality of the attack.

The bombing was part of a broader U.S.–Israeli military offensive launched Saturday against multiple targets across Iran. In a dramatic escalation, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Iranians to “take over your government,” a statement widely interpreted as signaling support for regime change during an active military assault.

Initial strikes reportedly targeted the compound housing Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in central Tehran. Smoke was seen rising over the capital, though it was not immediately clear whether he was present at the time.

In a video message defending the operation, Trump accused the Iranian government of decades of hostility toward the United States. He urged civilians to seek shelter during the strikes, while also calling on them to rise up against their leadership once the bombardment ended.

The conflict quickly widened. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced it had launched a “first wave” of drones and missiles toward Israel in retaliation, prompting nationwide alerts in Israel as its military sought to intercept the incoming fire.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement also signaled it would resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and Israeli targets, raising fears of a broader regional escalation.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded defiantly, declaring that the country “will not hesitate” to defend itself against what it described as foreign military aggression.

The strike on a girls’ school has intensified international concern over civilian casualties and the expanding scope of the conflict, as tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran enter a dangerous new phase.