India on Thursday expressed its sadness over the killing of dozens of children in a US missile attack on a girls’ school in Iran, and stressed the need to give priority to the safety of civilians amid the conflict in West Asia.
Iranian officials said 175 people, most of them children, were killed in the attack on Shajarat Taiba Primary School for Girls in the city of Minab on February 28, the first day of the conflict. US media reports quoted US officials as saying that an ongoing military investigation has found that the United States is responsible for the deadly Tomahawk missile attack on the school.
“On the issue of school children…we have issued several statements on the ongoing conflict. We stressed the need to prioritize the safety of all civilians,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press conference.
He added: “We regret the precious lives lost and express our sadness in this regard.”
According to reports, a missile hit Shajarat al-Taybeh Girls School during school hours. Most of the victims were girls between the ages of seven and twelve, and large parts of the building were destroyed while school was in session. Reports also indicated that the United States is the only country using the Tomahawk missile in the conflict.
US media reports also stated that the raid on the school was the result of a targeting error by the US military, which planned to strike a nearby Iranian military base of which the school building had previously been part. Military officers created the target coordinates using old data from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Jaiswal also said that India was among 135 countries that co-sponsored a Gulf Cooperation Council-led resolution in the UN Security Council condemning Iran’s “outrageous attacks” against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan. The resolution, which was adopted by a majority of 13 votes and two abstentions (China and Russia), said that these attacks amount to “a violation of international law and a serious threat to international peace and security.”
Jaiswal said the decision reflects many of India’s positions. “We have a large expatriate community in the GCC countries and their well-being and well-being is very important. The Gulf is also very important for our energy security needs,” he said, referring to the 10 million Indians living in West Asian countries.
