China to provide USD 200,000 for victims of bomb attack on Iranian school

China on Friday announced $200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance following an airstrike on a girls’ primary school in southern Iran that reportedly killed scores of students during the ongoing US-Israel military campaign in the country.

Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed condolences over the deaths of the children and said the aid would be delivered through humanitarian channels.

“China expresses deep condolences regarding the deaths of students in the recent attack on an Iranian elementary school and extends sincere sympathies to their families,” Guo said.

He added that the Red Cross Society of China had decided to provide $200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society to support relief efforts.

Guo also strongly criticised attacks on civilian targets, saying such incidents constituted a grave breach of international law. “China condemns all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and non-military targets,” he said. “Targeting schools and harming children constitute a severe violation of international humanitarian law and cross the bottom line of human morality and conscience.”

The spokesperson said Beijing was prepared to continue offering humanitarian assistance to Iran. “China is willing to continue to offer necessary support to Iran in the spirit of humanitarianism to help the Iranian people overcome the difficulties,” he said.

According to a United Nations statement issued on 1 March, missiles reportedly struck and destroyed a girls’ primary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, killing around 150 and injuring nearly 100 others. Many of those killed were believed to be very young students. Iran has blamed the United States and Israel for the attack.

The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it was reviewing reports of the incident, while Israel’s military told the BBC it was “not aware” of any Israeli Defence Forces operations in the area.

The school was located in Minab near a base belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has previously been targeted during the conflict.

China, a key ally of Tehran, has repeatedly called for an immediate halt to hostilities since the outbreak of the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, which escalated following US bombing raids in Iran and the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei.

Guo reiterated Beijing’s position earlier this week, urging all parties to de-escalate the conflict. “China urges the relevant parties to stop military operations at once, avoid further escalation, and prevent the regional turmoil from having a larger impact on global economic growth,” he said.

With PTI inputs