Iranians seek the truth about a deadly school strike | Global News Podcast

Welcome to the Global News podcast from. the BBC. I'm Charlotte Gallagher and. today we're joined by our senior. investigations correspondent, No'al Al. Maghafi. No'al has just been to the. school in Iran where 150 people, many of. them children, were killed at the start. of the US Israel war with Iran. So, No'al, tell me about the school, visiting the school, and and what you. saw there. >> It was really tough. I mean, I read a. lot about what had happened in the. school. I It's kind of looked at a lot.

of footage that had come out of that. day, but it's only when you go that you. kind of like get a sense of the gravity. and magnitude of that attack. I mean, just walking through and seeing things. like painting on the wall by children, their writing that teachers had put up. in the classrooms now like covered in. dust. uh because of what happened. I saw the. desks underneath the rubble when I went. there. Uh they were actually still sifting. through the rubble 4 and 1/2 months on.

and they were looking for the remains of. one young boy who's still missing. Um. and it was really overwhelming to walk. through that. It's one of those stories. that just stays with you forever because. of how harrowing it was. And then, you. know, a few hours into our filming, the. teachers and parents started coming into. the school and I found out that that was. their daily ritual. They go and they all. pray together. And, you know, the pain. of what they went through is still very.

raw. Like, you know, you could see them. in tears. You could see how much emotion. uh there still was. Um. it was really tough. Um and I, you know, we went there because the government. were very keen for us to see what had. happened in the school and they've used. what happened and made it their case to. the world to say, "Look, this is what an. American Israeli intervention in Iran. looks like. It isn't going to just be. targeting military sites. When you walk. around Tehran even, you see huge.

billboards with the pictures of all. these children that were killed. You. see, you know, they talk about it in. speeches. You see it played time and. time again on Iranian television. And. so, to go there ourselves, it was like, yes, they are using it for propaganda, but this did happen. You know, these. children were killed. Um and speaking to. the parents, I mean, the loss is just so. profound, it's so heartbreaking. >> And who did you speak to when you were. at the school?

>> So, when I first arrived, I met this. teacher, Amina Naghdi. She had uh taught. first grade for over 6 years. And she walked me through the school. She showed me where classrooms once. were, where her her classroom was. And. she told me um that, you know, about 2. hours before the attack, the head. teacher had heard that the war had. broken out. And she said that everyone. needs to call the parents of the. children and tell them to pick up their. kids. Some kids were picked up, and. others were still waiting for their.

parents when the strike happened. Um and she told me that she had sent. some of the children away. When the attack happened and, you know, the building came down, she thought. they'd gone home. But she walked out and. realized that. they were underneath the rubble, and so. were their parents. Um. And then we also spoke to the first Red. Crescent worker that was at the scene. when the attack happened. His name was. Reza. He walked us around and said, you know, this there was no military activity.

here. I've never seen anyone armed here. This was a school. It's been a school. for over 10 years. Um and so, you know, that it was really critical what he told. us. Um and then he told us a story. that. was incredibly sad. It's such a. tight-knit community, Minab. And so, when he arrived at the school, he knew. so many of the people that had come. looking for their children. Um and he said one of the first children. he found was a child he actually knows. And he walked out. It was his cousin.

And the mother was crying saying, "Please go find my daughter. Go find my. daughter." And he just didn't have the. heart to tell her that he already had. and that she was killed in the attack. >> US forces haven't admitted. responsibility, but military. investigators reportedly believe that. the strike could have been carried out. accidentally. >> So we pressed them on that. You know, we. had experts look at satellite imagery, uh look at, you know, the footage that. we have and give their take on what they.

think might have happened. And you know, they say it's likely it was a US. Tomahawk missile because there were two. wave of attacks that day. One in the. morning and one in the afternoon. And. the one in the afternoon, you can see in. footage. uh Tomahawk missiles dropping on the. IRGC compound beside the school. Um the first wave of strikes, which, you. know, is the one that hit the school. itself, you can't see what missile was. used. But when you look at the crater. that was left behind, you know, all the.

evidence indicates that it was part of. the same attack. And usually they use. the same missiles for waves of attacks. Um and so yeah, all it all indicates. that it was the US that was responsible. for this attack. But only they can. be the ones to have the final say. because they're conducting an. investigation. It's been going on for. months now. Um and it hasn't been released. You. know, the most recent thing we've heard. from President Trump on this attack was. a Fox News interview that he did a.

couple of days ago, in which he was. asked about some of this footage that. has come out that shows the Tomahawk. missiles dropping in the IRGC compound. beside the school. And he said, "Well, they could be a fabrication. It could be. AI.". Um and he said he's not sure when this. investigation will be released and if it. will be released at all. Um so, you know, it's been months, and it. hasn't been released. We chased them. just before our investigation went out, um and they said it's still ongoing, and.

that it will be released at some point. >> And some experts are suggesting that the. US had outdated intelligence, which said. that this school was actually part of. the military complex when it was. actually just a school. >> So, there was a preliminary. investigation that wasn't released. formally, but some American networks um. got access to the findings of this. investigation. And that investigation. says that, you know, these networks are. reporting that it was very likely um a.

Tomahawk missile that attacked the. school, and that it was a mistake. because of out using outdated. intelligence. You know, many years ago, this school was a part of this IRGC. compound, um and then it was fenced off, um and that IRGC compound compared um. according to a lot of civilians and. residents of the area hasn't been active. or operational in over 10 years. Um and. so, what they're saying is that maybe it.

was based on intelligence of when it was. active, and that's why it was hit. >> When you were speaking to people in the. community, how important was it for them. that the truth comes out, and people. know as a matter of fact what happened? >> I mean, of course, for the people of the. community and of that school, the. parents, um they've suffered a profound. loss, and nothing is going to soften. that blow. But, they want justice. So, they want to know who was responsible. They want whoever's responsible to be.

held accountable. And [clears throat] at. large, across Iran, you know, we. traveled across the entire country, and. we spoke to people about those protests. that we saw break out in January where. hundreds of thousands of Iranians went. to the streets calling for the regime to. fall, and then we saw President Trump. come out and say that the war was. beginning and that he was there to. support the Iranian people. um. in their want for change. And then. within the first few hours, the attack. on Minab happened. When we spoke to.

those people, people who were very. welcoming of this war, you know, they. told us that um what happened in Minab. shocked them and terrified them about. the prospect of war and that they didn't. realize that this would be the human. cost. I mean, we spoke to multiple. people who said that they, you know, were very pro this war, they really. wanted it to happen, they thought that. within a few weeks the regime would. crumble. And so the attack on Minab. really came as a shock to them and. terrified them of the prospect that this.

war may go on for months and months on. end and how many more civilians would be. killed. Um and so everyone wants. answers. They want to know what went. wrong and who's responsible. >> Thanks to all. That was Nawal. Al-Maghafi, our senior investigations. correspondent. And this has been the. Global News Podcast. Thanks for. watching. If you would like to hear more. from us, please click the link below.