In one video circulating on social media, purportedly showing the immediate aftermath of the strike, smoke rises from the burnt-out walls, and debris lies spread across the road. Hundreds of onlookers gathered at the site, some in obvious distress. Screams can be heard in the background. The report of the bombing, its death toll and the video\u2019s source could not immediately be independently verified by the Guardian. Persian factchecking service Factnameh was able to cross-reference the video with other photographs of the school site, and concluded that the video was authentic. Reuters said it had also verified the footage as being from the school.<\/p>\n
Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for Iran\u2019s health ministry, said in a post to X<\/a> that the bombing of the school was \u201cthe most bitter news\u201d of the conflict so far. \u201cGod knows how many more children\u2019s bodies they will pull from under the rubble.\u201d<\/p>\n The school appears to be adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks. If the death toll is confirmed, the school bombing would be the largest mass casualty event of the US-led attack so far.<\/p>\n People scan the horizon as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran when the US-led attacks began on Saturday. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n Across the country, Iranians said they were feeling a mixture of terror and hope as the bombings continued. Some expressed relief that the long-expected strikes had arrived, and opponents of the regime spoke of hope that they might lead to political change \u2013 but both were tempered by fear that the attacks would bring more civilian deaths to a country already reeling from recent bloodshed.<\/p>\n In Tehran, some people sheltered in their homes, while others rushed through gridlocked traffic to find their children as schools shut down. Many said they had been preparing for weeks for a possible war, stockpiling water and supplies.<\/p>\n Amir*, 37, owner of a bakery in Tehran, said he was \u201crelieved\u201d to hear that strikes appeared to have hit government buildings, but feared there would be collateral damage. \u201cMy worry is that innocent people will be killed,\u201d he said. Amir had family members injured in the Iranian regime\u2019s recent crackdown on nationwide protests, and feared there was more bloodshed to come. \u201cWe have endured so much grief \u2013 despite that, we don\u2019t want to see the body bags on the streets due to US and Israeli strikes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The attacks came in the middle of diplomatic negotiations<\/a> between Iran and the US, about seven weeks after Tehran violently crushed nationwide anti-regime demonstrations, with government forces opening fire on unarmed protesters<\/a>. According to the US-based Human Rights Activist news agency (HRANA), which has been documenting casualties, more than 7,000 people<\/a> have been confirmed dead in the protests, with more than 11,000 deaths still under investigation.<\/p>\n Some, who had lost friends or family members in the protests, were defiant: Mohsen, 25, an IT worker in Tehran, said: \u201cWe do fear that compatriots will be killed [by the US\/Israeli strikes], but I have witnessed friends gunned down by the regime \u2013 like thousands of us have.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really know what we are going to witness. But thanks to the regime and its killing machine, we have already seen what a war zone feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n Moein*, 21, a student at the University of Tehran, said he could hear loud bangs from near the university as the bombs struck.<\/p>\n He was involved in the recent protests and had two friends killed in the crackdown. He said: \u201cWe were not in favour of foreign intervention, because we did not want our loved ones to be killed, but the regime has massacred our families anyway. When weapons come from the US, do they strike us more gently than when they come from the regime\u2019s killing machines?\u201d<\/p>\n Moein said that while the city felt apprehensive, it had not plunged into panic. \u201cWe have been preparing for war so we have stocked up on essentials,\u201d he said. \u201cAs far as I know there are no bomb shelters for us ordinary people.\u201d He and others on the ground said they had been intermittently unable to access state media \u2013 although it was not clear whether this was due to cyber-attacks or websites being overwhelmed by traffic.<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772320991_419_4687.jpg\")
Smoke rises in Tehran after US and Israel launch joint attack on Iran \u2013 video<\/p>\n![\"Vehicles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772320992_426_1920.jpg\")
Vehicles burn in Tehran after US-Israeli strikes \u2013\u00a0video<\/p>\n