‘We’ll neither forget nor forgive’: Iran reignites outrage over US missile strike on Lamerd sports hall that claimed 24 lives

The February 28 missile strike on a sports hall in Lamerd in Iran’s Fars Province has reignited outrage in Tehran after Iranian authorities today claimed that 24 civilians, including teenage volleyball players and a two-year-old child, were killed in a deliberate attack on a residential neighbourhood during the opening day of the war. Iranian officials said more than 130 people were also wounded in the strike, many of them critically.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei renewed accusations against the United States, calling the attack a “despicable war crime” and alleging that civilians gathered inside the sports facility were intentionally targeted. He said the missile strike hit both the Lamerd sports hall and the surrounding residential areas, causing widespread devastation and heavy civilian casualties.

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“There is no longer any doubt that the United States deliberately targeted a residential neighbourhood and a civilian sports hall in Lamerd,” Baghaei said while calling the incident a planned assault rather than an operational error.

Iran says teenage athletes and child among those killed

According to Baghaei, the strike “slaughtered 24 persons, including a 2-year-old girl, several teenage volleyball players,” while more than 130 others suffered injuries. Iranian authorities claimed several victims may face permanent disabilities because of the intensity of the blast and the nature of the weapons allegedly used.

Baghaei further alleged that the missiles detonated before impact and released thousands of high-velocity tungsten pellets across the area, causing large-scale civilian casualties inside and around the sports complex.

‘Calculated decision to test a new weapon system on civilians’

Escalating his attack on Washington, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the strike was “not a mistake” but “a calculated decision” aimed at testing destructive military capabilities on civilians.

“This was not a mistake; it was a calculated decision to test the destructive power of a new weapon system on Iranian civilians,” Baghaei said.

He also demanded international accountability for those responsible for ordering and carrying out the strike, insisting that the attack constituted a “clear and despicable war crime”.

Tehran vows it will ‘neither forget nor forgive’

Iranian officials said rescue operations continued for hours after the strike as emergency teams searched through debris and shifted the wounded to nearby hospitals.

Baghaei said Iran would continue pursuing legal and diplomatic action over the attack and warned that the country would not allow the deaths to be forgotten.

“The Iranian nation will never forget its martyred sons and daughters. We will neither forget nor forgive this crime,” he said.