Israel’s UN envoy criticises Maltese diplomat over Iran school attack statement

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has criticised a statement by Vanessa Frazier, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, over reported attacks on Iranian schools.

In a post on X sharing a BBC article, the Maltese diplomat said she was “deeply alarmed” by reports of attacks on Iranian schools that had left a large number of casualties, mostly children.

She noted that the UN Security Council has designated attacks on schools and hospitals as a grave violation against children and said schools must remain safe places for learning.

Israel’s ambassador said Frazier did not refer to children killed in Israel by Iranian missiles in her statement. He also alleged that a photograph accompanying her post was not related to the reported school attacks, claiming it was taken about two months ago and showed protesters killed in Iran.

He called on Frazier to condemn what he described as an Iranian attack that resulted in the deaths of Israeli children.

According to Iranian officials 153 people including children have died after a reported strike hit a school in southern Iran.

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.