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Iran accused the U.S. of using what it described as a new weapon system on Iranian civilians during a missile strike on a sports hall in Lamerd, Fars province, on Feb. 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei made the accusation in a post on the U.S. social media platform X after meeting Mousa Mousavi, the member of Parliament for Mehr and Lamerd.
Baghaei said Mousavi briefed him on what he called the “harrowing details” of a U.S. missile strike on a sports hall in Lamerd.
He said the strike hit a residential area in the city on the afternoon of Feb. 28, the same day students at Shajareh Tayyibeh School in Minab were killed by Tomahawk missiles.
According to Baghaei, the Lamerd strike killed 24 people, including a 2-year-old girl, several teenage volleyball players and other women and men.
He said more than 130 people were injured, many of whom now face permanent disabilities.
Baghaei said the residential area in Lamerd, including the sports hall, was struck by U.S. Precision Strike Missiles.
He said the missiles used in the attack were “airburst” weapons, which detonated in the air before impact.
According to Baghaei, the missiles released 180,000 high-velocity tungsten pellets that tore through the area in every direction with devastating force.
He said the scale and type of the strike showed that the area was deliberately targeted.
“There is no longer any doubt that the United States deliberately targeted a residential neighborhood and a civilian sports hall in Lamerd,” Baghaei said.
“This was not a mistake—it was a calculated decision to test the destructive power of a new weapon system on Iranian civilians,” he added.
Baghaei said the victims included children, teenage athletes and civilians who were inside or near the sports hall at the time of the attack.
He said several teenage volleyball players were among those killed.
He also said the strike caused injuries that would leave many survivors with permanent disabilities.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson linked the Lamerd attack to the same day’s strike on Shajareh Tayyibeh School in Minab, saying both took place on Feb. 28, the opening day of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Baghaei said the attack on the Lamerd sports hall was not an accidental strike, but a deliberate act against civilians.
Baghaei described the strike as a “clear and despicable war crime.”
He said those who ordered and carried out the attack should be held accountable before a competent court of law.
“Those who ordered and executed this attack must be held accountable before any competent court of law,” Baghaei said.
He added that Iran would not forget those killed in the strike.
“The Iranian nation will never forget its martyred sons and daughters,” he said. “We will neither forget nor forgive this crime.”
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