TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Thursday condemned a U.S. attack on a sports hall in the southern Fars province, which killed 21 teenagers, calling it a "despicable war crime."
In a post on social media platform X, Baghaei said the strike on Feb. 28 marked the combat debut of the U.S. Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which exploded above the crowded hall in the city of Lamerd, "dispersing thousands of lethal fragments (tungsten pellets) to maximize casualties."
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East.
In a separate interview with Pan-African TV news channel Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Baghaei called the U.S.-Israeli attacks an "act of aggression and an illegal war."
The spokesman noted that the United States had twice "torpedoed" bilateral negotiations over the past nine months, one in June 2025 and the other in late February this year.
He warned that Iran will not tolerate a repeated "vicious cycle of war, negotiations and ceasefire," and will keep fighting as long as the "illegal" war continues. ■
