Iranian officials claim school hit during US-Israeli army strikes
A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on February 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Dozens of students at an Iranian all-girls elementary school were among those killed during the U.S. and Israeli military strikes throughout the country Saturday morning, officials in Iran claimed.
The country’s leaders and state TV said 85 people who were at the Shajare Tayyiba Elementary School were dead, as of 10:40 a.m. ET, after the school in Minab was attacked.
At least 92 injuries related to the school attack were reported, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which cited the local governor.
Iranian officials have not immediately said how many of the dead and wounded are children. Earlier in the morning, Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, reported shortly after that the death toll had risen to 57 school girls, with another 60 injured.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blasted the United States and Israeli governments for the deaths and injuries in a statement Saturday carried by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.
“This barbaric act is another black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors against this land that will never be erased from the historical memory of our nation,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an X post that the school was “bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils.”
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it would look into the reports about the school being bombed but emphasized, “Unlike Iran, we have never — and will never — target civilians.”
“We take these reports seriously and are looking into them,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said in a statement. “The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimize the risk of unintended harm.”
International law prohibits the deliberate targeting of schools and universities during armed conflicts.
The U.S. military has a rigorous targeting process using different forms of intelligence to ensure that any targets to be struck by bombs or missiles are, in fact, enemy targets and will not harm civilians or strike civilian targets.
Claims of civilian casualties are investigated as much as possible, although it may not be possible to do so in areas controlled by hostile forces.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, a non-profit that tracks military attacks on academic institutions, documented more than 6,000 attacks on schools, universities, students and education personnel worldwide between 2022 and 2023.
The group’s global research found that 10,000 students and education personnel were killed, injured, abducted or otherwise harmed during that time period.
People walk through the streets of Sumy during emergency power cuts on December 9, 2025 in Sumy, Ukraine. (Maksym Kishka/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Millions of Ukrainians have been plunged into frequent darkness and cold as Russian drones and missiles wage a systematic long-range campaign against the country’s energy grid for the fourth consecutive winter.
Even at the offices of Ukraine’s mammoth state-owned Naftogaz oil and gas conglomerate in Kyiv, emergency generators have been keeping the lights on.
“What I can see from my window — there is an absolutely dark city with only some lights,” CEO Sergii Koretskyi told ABC News during a video interview. “I’m sure people recognize this winter as the most difficult since the full-scale invasion started. We can see power cuts from four up to 10 hours a day.”
Russia’s nightly bombardments have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure in recent months, Ukrainian officials say, often involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.
Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Western military aid to help blunt such strikes. “The Russians’ goal is to hurt millions of Ukrainians,” the president said in a social media post on Saturday.
Between October and December so far, Naftogaz recorded 11 “massive attacks on gas infrastructure across Ukraine,” Koretskyi said. “Our gas production infrastructure has suffered significant damage and destruction,” he added.
Naftogaz estimates the combined cost of covering its gas shortfall and repairing its production and storage infrastructure at more than $3 billion, Koretskyi said.
“We can see that the scale and intensity of strikes have changed dramatically,” Koretskyi added. This year’s bombardments have been even more punishing than those in the back end of last winter, he added, when Ukraine had 42% of its domestic gas production knocked out.
Throughout its full-scale invasion — which began in February 2022 following eight years of lower-intensity cross-border Russian aggression — Moscow has denied intentionally targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The Russian Defense Ministry says it attacks Ukrainian fuel and energy targets that support the Ukrainian armed forces and Ukraine’s military-industrial enterprises.
Ukraine is also waging its own long-range strike campaign against Russian energy targets, particularly oil storage and refining facilities. Kyiv says the lucrative proceeds from Russian oil exports help fund Moscow’s ongoing invasion.
Koretskyi declined to say what proportion of the country’s gas production and storage capacities had been taken offline during this winter’s attacks, citing operational security and Moscow’s use of public statements and statistics to guide its strike campaign.
But virtually all of Ukraine’s regions now routinely face rolling blackouts, imposed to help protect the country’s grid while repairs are carried out, leaving millions with only hours of power.
Naftogaz says it supplies gas to 12.5 million households across Ukraine. Around 80% of the population using gas to heat their homes. Each night of Russian attacks threatens new blackouts for tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people.
“Their goal is clear — this is pure terrorism,” he said, “to put us into the darkness without heat during this winter season.”
Analysts have suggested that Western support could prove vital in helping Ukraine through this winter.
“Without substantial Western support — particularly air defense systems, transformers, and financial assistance for emergency repairs — blackouts are likely to be more regular, people will suffer in the cold, and economic activity may slow,” political consultant Kateryna Odarchenk wrote for the Center for European Policy Analysis this month.
Zelenskyy and his top officials have consistently pressed Western allies to provide more air defense systems and ammunition, to help Ukrainian defenders protect civilian centers, military sites and critical infrastructure.
Yuriy Boyechko, the CEO of the Hope For Ukraine charity, told ABC News that the current energy crisis is a result of inadequate air defenses in the face of “the relentless deluge of Russian missiles and drones.” He added, “The only viable solution is immediate, comprehensive air defense support from Western allies.”
The bombing has wrought holes in Ukraine’s energy network. As of December, Naftogaz estimated that Ukraine needed to import 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas through to the end of this heating season — which Ukraine’s government estimates will end by around March 31.
This is expected to cost some €1.9 billion — around $2.2 billion — Koretskyi said. Zelenskyy and his government have mobilized to secure the funding from foreign partners and financial institutions, but Naftogaz’s chief said a hole of around €600 million remains.
Kyiv is turning to private companies in gas-rich nations like the U.S. to help fill the gap. Companies require two permits to export natural gas — one from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and one from the Department of Energy.
This year already, more than 500 million cubic meters of American liquid natural gas (LNG) have been imported, with another 300 million cubic meters agreed for import earlier next year.
Through 2026, Koretskyi said, Ukraine would like to bring in another 1 billion cubic meters of American LNG. “We would like to build long-term relationships with U.S. LNG suppliers,” he said.
A recent agreement to import U.S. LNG through the Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline running from Greece is also part of this drive, Ukrainian officials have said.
But as Russia’s attacks grow larger and more sophisticated, the cost and complexity of recovery grows. Naftogaz’s list of equipment needed for repairs is now 190 items strong, Koretskyi said. The estimated cost of this badly needed equipment is more than $900 million, he added.
“There are two lists of equipment — the first one for repairing or replacing those damaged or even destroyed, and the second is for a strategic reserve for upcoming potential attacks,” he explained. U.S. and European suppliers, Koretskyi said, could prove pivotal in filling the gaps.
“The lead time — of production time, delivery and installation — will take between eight and 18 months,” Koretskyi said. “So, we should be ready not just for this winter season, but for the next heating season.”
Meanwhile, the strikes and blackouts continue.
On Dec. 4, for example, the Kherson central heating plant in the southern frontline city was knocked offline after days of attacks by various Russian weapons systems. Kherson military administration head Oleksandr Prokudin said that disruption left more than 40,000 without heat.
“It’s like a nightmare,” Koretskyi said of life under rolling blackouts for many Ukrainians. “I do believe Ukrainians recognize the risk, the challenge, that Russia will continue bombing us.”
“Nobody can imagine what will happen in the coming months or weeks,” he added, suggesting that Ukrainians may have to summon reserves of resilience already tapped by almost four years of full-scale war.
“This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Koretskyi said. “The war changes, upgrades and becomes different every day. The measures for survival, for protection, should be changed as well … That’s how we live.”
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi (C), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel (L) and U.S. Attorney for Washington, DC Jeanine Pirro make a press announcement at the Department of Justice on February 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi announced the FBI has captured and extradited Zubayr al-Bakoush, a suspect in the 2012 attack on the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A suspect in the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, has been arrested and brought back to the United States, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.
Zubayr al-Bakoush was brought back to Andrews Air Force Base at 3 a.m., she said.
On Sept. 11, 2012, a group of men stormed into the diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Four Americans were killed in the attack.
The suspect is charged with the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, according to the U.S. attorney.
“Bakoush was first charged by complaint in 2015 which was sealed for 11 years, an indictment, an eight count indictment, has been unsealed, and it charges Bakoush with the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens, the murder of State Department employee Sean Smith, the attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund and conspiracy to provide materials for terrorists and support that resulted in the death of four Americans, as well as arson at the special mission,” U.S. Attorney Jeannine Pirro said alongside the Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump following their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A top Russian official on Monday issued personal threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin’s state residence in Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. Lavrov offered no evidence to support the assertion, which Zelenskyy was quick to dismiss as a Russian disinformation effort.
Dmitry Medvedev — the former Russian president and prime minister now serving on the country’s Security Council — posted to X accusing Zelenskyy of “trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,” referring to the ongoing U.S.-sponsored peace talks.
“He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life,” Medvedev wrote.
In separate posts to Telegram, Medvedev — who, during Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine, has become known as a particularly hawkish voice within Putin’s security establishment — even appeared to suggest that Zelenskyy should be “exhibited” in St. Petersburg after his “imminent demise.”
Kiril Dmitriev, the Kremlin aide who also serves as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has been closely involved in negotiations with U.S. representatives, also questioned the Ukrainian president’s future.
“Who is after Zelenskyy?” Dmitriev said in a post to X.
The Kremlin said U.S. President Donald Trump was informed of the alleged attack during a Monday phone call with Putin. Russian officials also threatened retaliatory strikes in Ukraine.
Yuri Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, told the state-run Tass news agency that Putin and Trump discussed the issue by phone on Monday, with the U.S. leader expressing his surprise and anger.
Zelenskyy rejected the Russian reports of the supposed Ukrainian drone attack as “yet another lie.”
“Now, with their statement that some residence of theirs was attacked, they are simply preparing — I am sure — preparing the ground, in principle, to launch strikes, probably on the capital and, probably, on state buildings,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X on Tuesday that “Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened.”
It is unclear what the latest developments might mean for the ongoing peace talks.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the alleged Ukrainian attack would prompt a “hardening of the Russian Federation’s negotiating position,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.
“Russia is not withdrawing from the negotiation process,” Peskov added, describing the alleged attack as an effort aimed “at disrupting President Trump’s efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.”
After talks with Zelenskyy — which were preceded and followed by phone calls between Trump and Putin — at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Sunday, Trump told reporters that the negotiating teams are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to achieving a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, which Moscow launched in February 2022.
Lavrov said that Russia does not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process following the alleged attack. But the foreign minister said that the “targets and timing of Russia’s retaliatory strike” had “been determined.”
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched two missiles and 60 drones into the country overnight into Tuesday morning, of which one missile and 52 drones were shot down or suppressed. One missile and eight drones impacted across five locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were shot down on Tuesday morning over the southern Krasnodar region.
The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region reported on Telegram that two people sustained shrapnel injuries caused by drones. Drone wreckage fell on a railway station in the region, the headquarters said.
Rosaviatsiya — Russia’s federal air transport agency — reported temporary flight restrictions at Krasnodar airport.
