Iran has blamed the US and Israel. The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it was looking into reports of the incident, while Israel's military said it was "not aware" of any IDF operations in the area. The girls' school was located in Minab, near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base which has previously been a target. At least 201 people have been killed in air strikes in Iran and 747 hurt since Saturday, the Iranian Red Crescent said. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian called the incident a "barbaric act" and "another black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors".

In a statement reported in US media, Centcom spokesman Tim Hawkins said: "We take these reports seriously. "The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm." The six-day working week in Iran runs from Saturday to Thursday, with Friday being the only official day of rest, meaning the school was likely occupied when it was hit. Following the incident on Saturday, Red Cross and Red Crescent officials in Geneva said the society had mobilised response teams to go to the school. An official said that the school, in the town of Minab in Hormozgan province, had been "targeted by three missile attacks". It is located about 600m (1970ft) from the base of the IRGC. The BBC has verified clips of the aftermath of the explosion, which show smoke rising from a building as crowds gather nearby and people can be heard screaming in panic. But it has not been able to independently verify the death toll - international news organisations are often refused visas to Iran which severely limits their ability to gather information there. Iranian social media users have reacted with anger to news of the incident. (BBC)