Key facts
- A U.S. airstrike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, on February 28.
- The strike killed approximately 120 people, most of them children and teachers.
- Families are visiting the school ruins, which are being turned into a memorial.
- One teacher attempted to protect students by gathering them in the school's prayer room, which was hit.
- Iranian state media reported 168 people killed in the strike.
Families are grappling with profound grief in the aftermath of a U.S. airstrike that struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, on February 28, killing approximately 120 children and teachers. The attack occurred on the first day of the war on Iran, with at least one U.S. missile hitting the school shortly after students arrived.
Heydar Sadeghi, a grandfather, recounted his desperate search for his grandson Hami and daughter-in-law Neda Salehizadeh, both of whom were killed. His granddaughter Nila survived but is traumatized by the event. The school, which served children from local families and those of Revolutionary Guard base officers, has become a makeshift memorial where relatives gather to mourn and share stories.
Iranian state media reported 168 people were killed in the strike. The Trump administration has not yet fully accepted responsibility or released findings from a Pentagon investigation. The governor of Hormozgan province has stated the damaged building will be preserved as a memorial and war museum.
One teacher, Nasim Neyestani, had expressed alarm about potential wider strikes and began calling parents to pick up their children. Fourteen of her 22 students were collected before the attack. Neyestani then gathered the remaining eight children in the school's prayer room for safety, but this room was hit, resulting in the deaths of Neyestani and all eight children. Her mother, Fatemeh Barani, believes her daughter might have survived if she had remained in her classroom, which was largely intact.