The Human Cost of the Minab School Attack: Tragedy at Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary

In the city of Minab, Iran, the boulevards and main squares are now lined with posters of smiling children and teachers. These images serve as a haunting reminder of February 28, 2026, the day the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School was destroyed by a missile strike. The attack occurred on the first day of U.S. And Israeli bombardments in Iran, transforming a place of learning into a landscape of collective grief.

The Strike and Immediate Aftermath

The attack began around 11:30 a.m. Alireza Dadkhodai, an emergency operations expert with the Red Crescent, reported a massive explosion that rocked the city, followed by two more explosions within a single minute. The violence of the strikes caused the roof of the school to collapse directly onto the classrooms, trapping students and staff inside.

Chaos erupted as residents of Minab rushed toward the rising columns of black smoke. Fire crews worked frantically to extinguish flames erupting from the upper floors while walls continued to crumble. Heavy machinery did not arrive for another two hours, beginning a grueling three-day excavation process. Parents worked alongside rescue teams, desperate to uncover survivors beneath the concrete, though rescuers reported that most remains were fragmented.

Casualties and the Toll on Families

The loss of life was catastrophic. While Iranian state media reported a death toll of 168 or higher, Ebrahim Taheri, the prosecutor of Minab, provided a specific breakdown of 156 casualties counted by local authorities:

• Students: 120 children (73 boys and 47 girls).
• Teachers: 26 women.
• Others: Seven parents, one school bus driver, and one pharmacy technician from a neighboring clinic.
• Additional Loss: A six-month-old fetus carried by teacher Zohreh Shahriyari.

The personal tragedies are profound. Somayeh Basardeh mourns her sister, Samira, a 38-year-old teacher who was found in her classroom still cradling four students. Other parents faced the agony of identifying children by clothing rather than faces. Alieh Zakeri’s husband identified their son, Reza, by his sports shorts and socks, while the mother of a grandson, Mohammad, recognized him only by the number “70” on his sports jersey.

For some, the closure remains elusive. Sirus and Asieh Nasiri, parents of 7-year-old Makan Nasiri, have spent over 50 days searching for their son. Despite exhaustive searches and DNA testing, Makan is the only victim whose body was never recovered; his family possesses only a bloodied blue sweater and a single cream-colored shoe.

Investigation and Controversy

The origins of the strike have sparked significant controversy. Although President Trump initially blamed Iran for the attack, preliminary investigations and expert analyses suggest the school was hit by a U.S.-made Tomahawk missile. Some analysts argue the strike may have been the result of outdated intelligence, while others allege the precision capabilities of Tomahawk missiles suggest the strike was intentional.

A key point of contention is the proximity of the school to a base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the incident to determine how a primary school became a target during the military campaign.

The Process of Recovery and Identification

The recovery effort was fraught with danger and psychological trauma. Mostafa Karimi, head of the local Culture and Guidance Office, noted that the instability of the ruins led to further injury; one man had to have his leg amputated after a heavy concrete slab fell on him during search efforts.

As many bodies were not intact, identification often relied on DNA analysis or minute physical details. Mohaddeseh Falahat identified her son, Amin, by his unevenly cut fingernails. Kazem Pourzahedian, a fabric merchant who volunteered at the local mortuary, described the harrowing process of using cotton and paper to reconstruct the physical forms of approximately 60 male students within their shrouds to spare families further distress during burial.

A Community in Mourning

Today, the Minab cemetery contains neat rows of small graves that mimic the order of a school assembly. For the survivors, the trauma persists. Samaneh Kamali, the only teacher who survived because she had left for a funeral an hour before the strike, now spends her time sorting through the salvaged belongings of students who are no longer there.

As the international community awaits the results of the Pentagon’s investigation, the families in Minab continue to navigate a cycle of grief, clinging to dolls that still carry the scent of their children and hoping for answers regarding the destruction of their school.