The UN human rights office has said an airstrike that Iran says hit a girls’ primary school in the southern city of Minab, killing at least 165 people, may amount to a war crime if it is found to have targeted civilians or been carried out indiscriminately.

Iranian state media reported that the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Hormozgan province was struck on Saturday during school hours, with dozens more wounded. Iranian officials say the majority of those killed were children.

Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the reported attack was “devastating” and required investigation. “Children, little girls, in the middle of the school day, at the beginning of the school day, being killed in this manner, backpacks with blood stains on them,” she said.

Shamdasani said the incident could meet the threshold for a war crime if investigators establish that the strike deliberately targeted civilians or was carried out in a way that failed to distinguish between civilian and military objectives, as required under international humanitarian law.

A funeral was held in Minab on Tuesday for those killed, including schoolchildren, according to footage carried by media outlets and accounts from Iranian officials. Independent verification of casualty figures and the circumstances of the strike has been difficult, with access in parts of Iran restricted amid the ongoing conflict and reports of communications disruption.

Iran has blamed Israel for the strike as the country faces a widening wave of attacks that Tehran says began on Saturday. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the Minab area. The US military said it was looking into reports of strikes and the possibility of civilian casualties.

The reported strike on the school came as Israel and the United States conduct a large-scale campaign against Iran that they say is aimed at military and strategic targets. Iranian officials have accused the two countries of carrying out indiscriminate attacks, including on civilian sites such as hospitals and schools. Washington has said its initial targets included facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, air defences and missile infrastructure.

Iranian figures put the number of people killed at the Minab school at between 165 and 180, with around 95 injured. Separate tallies reported in international media, citing Iranian sources, suggest up to 201 people may have been killed across Iran on the first day of strikes, meaning the school attack would account for a significant share of reported fatalities.

The school is reported to be located near an IRGC-linked military site, raising questions likely to form part of any investigation into whether a nearby military objective was being targeted and whether sufficient precautions were taken to avoid civilian harm. Under the laws of war, the presence of military facilities in an area does not remove the protected status of schools and civilians, but assessments typically focus on whether the object struck was a lawful military target, whether the expected civilian harm was excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage and whether feasible precautions were taken.

The UN rights office did not attribute responsibility for the strike, but said the facts must be established and accountability pursued where violations are found. The UN has repeatedly called for the protection of civilians and for all parties to comply with international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality.

The incident is likely to add to international scrutiny of the conduct of hostilities as the conflict escalates beyond declared military objectives and as casualty claims mount. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has previously urged de-escalation and warned against a broader regional conflict, while criticising the use of force and calling for adherence to the UN Charter.

In London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament on Monday that the United Kingdom was not involved in the initial strikes and reiterated the government’s position that it wanted de-escalation and a negotiated path on Iran’s nuclear programme and wider regional security.

Iran has vowed retaliation for the strikes, while Israel has framed its operation as necessary to counter what it calls a major threat posed by Iran’s military capabilities. Further exchanges of fire have been reported across the region in recent days, heightening concerns among neighbouring Gulf states and international shipping operators.

The UN rights office said it would continue to press for clarification of the circumstances of the Minab strike, including the chain of events leading to the reported hit on the school, the weapon used and the decision-making behind the targeting. For families in Minab, attention on Tuesday remained fixed on funerals and the search for answers as the names and ages of the dead continued to circulate in Iranian media.