2026 Lamerd sports hall attack

2026 Lamerd sports hall attack
Part of the 2026 Iran war
CCTV still of a missile striking the sports hall
Lamerd Location within Iran
Location	Lamerd, Fars province, Iran
Date	28 February 2026
Attack type	Missile strike
Weapon	Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)
Deaths	21
Injured	100
Perpetrator	United States (alleged by independent reporting) Iran (alleged by U.S. CENTCOM)

On 28 February 2026, a sports hall in Lamerd, Fars province in southern Iran was attacked by a two‑missile strike while a women's volleyball team was using the facility, killing at least 21 people, including 4 children, and injuring 100 people. The attack took place shortly after the 2026 Minab school attack. While the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) denied responsibility and accused Iran, investigations by The New York Times, BBC Verify, and independent analysts concluded that a United States Precision Strike Missile was used in the attack.

Attack

Video capturing the missile striking the sports hall

Casualties transported following the airstrikes

On 28 February 2026, two missiles struck a sports hall in Lamerd, taking place hours after the Minab school attack. The intended target of the strike may have been a nearby base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). At the time of the strikes, the sports hall was being used by a female volleyball team according to Amir-Saeid Iravani, the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations. The premises have been publicly identified as a civilian-use facility. According to video footage, the shockwaves of the missile appeared to shatter the building's windows and cause the entire side of the sports hall to blacken with soot, as well as causing damage to the roof. The attack killed 21 people, including 4 children, the youngest of them being two years old. An additional 100 people were injured.

CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins denied U.S. responsibility for the attack, insisting that the U.S. did not conduct any strikes in the area at the time and that the munition depicted in the video seems to be two times longer than a Precision Strike Missile and therefore consistent with an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile. According to the BBC, this statement was challenged by numerous weapons specialists pointing out that the Hoveyzeh missile possesses several unique characteristics that they say are not apparent in the Lamerd strike video. Hawkins also emphasized that "US forces do not indiscriminately target civilians, unlike the Iranian regime". Israel also denied conducting strikes on Lamerd on 28 February.

Investigation

According to BBC Verify, experts identified the munition before it exploded as likely being a U.S. missile according on its visual characteristics, the size of the explosion, and the distance from U.S. launch sites across the Middle East. A munitions expert from McKenzie Intelligence noted that the missile had no wings or external engine, but possessed distinctive "canard fins" consistent with a U.S. Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). Experts have also pointed to the mid-air explosion above Lamerd, indicating the airburst warhead feature of a Precision Strike Missile, which Hoveyzeh missile is not known to have.

According to The New York Times, the eruption of the missile mid-air is consistent with the Precision Strike Missile's design to detonate above its target and scatter tungsten pellets. It also noted that a U.S. official who spoke with NYT confirmed the missile used in the attack was the Precision Strike Missile. The Times said that the missile was being tested by the U.S. in combat for the first time, and therefore it is difficult to assess whether the strike was intentional.

Reactions

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Baghaei, stated on X that the attack is "not an isolated act of cruelty", but a part of a "systematic and brutal pattern of illegal warfare against Iran". Baghaei also called the attack as a "despicable war crime."

See also

• 2026 Minab school attack
• List of massacres in Iran
• United States war crimes