Iranian Families Appeal to Pope After U.S. Missile Kills Hundreds at Minab School

On 28 February, a U.S. Tomahawk missile hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, on the first day of the U.S.–Israeli bombing campaign. Preliminary U.S. findings attribute the strike to a targeting mistake that used outdated data while aiming at a nearby Revolutionary Guard base, killing 175 people, including a large number of children.

The Straits Times

On 19 April, Iranian state media published a letter signed by “the fathers and mothers of 168 children” addressed to Pope Leo XIV. The parents thanked the pontiff for “being the voice for our voiceless children” and urged him to promote peace so that no other family endures a similar loss.

The Straits Times

The U.S. military’s preliminary inquiry concluded that officers used outdated data while planning strikes on the adjacent base, mistakenly targeting the school. Pope Leo XIV, speaking on 23 April, said the conflict’s priority must be protecting innocent lives rather than pursuing regime change. He said he had seen the letter and used it to draw attention to the civilian deaths. President Donald Trump later cancelled a planned peace-talks trip for two senior negotiators to Pakistan.

The Straits Times

The parents’ letter blames the United States and Israel for “fueling the flames of these atrocities.” Trump’s remarks calling the Pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” illustrate political pushback against the pontiff’s peace appeal. Vice-President J.D. Vance defended the U.S.–Israeli campaign as a just cause, contrasting with the families’ demand for civilian protection.

The Straits Times

• “Our children will never return home to build a brighter future, but it is the prayer of us grieving parents that your message to lay down the weapons be heard, at a time when the United States and the Israeli regime fuel the flames of these atrocities with their excessive demands,” — Parents of victims, letter to Pope Leo XIV

New York Times

• “The issue is not whether there is regime change or not; the issue is how to promote the values we believe in without the death of so many innocent people.” — Pope Leo XIV, to reporters

The Straits Times

• “Officers used outdated data when they were planning strikes on an adjacent Iranian military base, and the school building had once been part of the base, the preliminary investigation found.” — U.S. military preliminary investigation

The Straits Times

• “terrible for foreign policy” — President Donald Trump

The Straits Times

Sources differ on the child death toll: one report cites “more than 100” children, another names “168” children, while the overall fatality count is given as 175. Early U.S. statements briefly blamed Iran for the strike before the preliminary investigation identified a targeting error.

The Straits Times