TEHRAN- A memorial ceremony for the child martyrs of Shajareh Tayyebeh, an elementary school in the city of Minab in the southern province of Hormozgan, turned into a powerful call for peace, unity and remembrance as artists and cultural figures gathered at the Artistic Creation Center of the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA).

The event, held on Saturday, featured theater professionals, children’s activists and officials who paid tribute to the students killed in the deadly attack coordinated by the U.S. and Israel on the elementary school in Minab, IRNA reported. 

Organizers created a classroom-style setting, displaying the children’s photographs, schoolbags and candles to evoke the atmosphere of the school and preserve the memory of the victims, the report added.

Speakers at the ceremony said the children were innocent victims of war and urged society not to allow their suffering to be forgotten. They stressed that artists have a social duty to stand beside the people and help keep alive the memory of those killed in violence.

Hamed Alamati, director of the IIDCYA, said the gathering was held in mourning for the children of Minab and described them as talented students whose hopes were shattered. He said the enemy’s crimes had left a deep wound, adding that artists had come to declare their commitment to carrying forward the children’s legacy.

Reza Mardani, director general of performing arts at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, said the killing of the students had hurt the conscience of the world. He called on theater artists to use their social responsibility to ensure such tragedies are not erased from public memory.

Several artists also spoke at the ceremony. Theater director Zahra Moridi said she had had the honor of working alongside the children of Minab through a mobile theater project and expressed hope that performances would soon be staged again in their memory. Actor Ali Yadollahi said the children whose photos were displayed were among the best of Iran’s youth and vowed to create 180 theatrical works to be performed across the country.

Director Nader Borhani Marand said the blood of the children would eventually lead to peace and friendship, while theater director Azadeh Ansari said she could not imagine the pain of the victims’ parents. Other speakers, including Nazila Nouri Shad, Mehdi Qaleh, Behnaz Mehdikhah and Mehrdad Niknam, echoed calls for solidarity, cultural responsibility and resistance to injustice.

On February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, became the site of a devastating massacre as the United States and Israel initiated their strikes against Iran. While dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities confirmed a final death toll of 168 people, with at least 95 others wounded, marking one of the most harrowing incidents of the conflict's opening day.

Despite attempts by U.S. and Israeli authorities to distance themselves from the carnage as images of the tragedy spread across social media, detailed forensic and digital investigations have painted a starkly different picture. An analysis by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit, utilizing over a decade of satellite imagery and recent video clips, revealed that the school was a clearly distinct civilian facility, separated from any adjacent military sites for at least ten years. Furthermore, witness accounts and satellite-based analyses confirmed that the school was triple tapped by three separate, deliberate strikes, leaving no doubt about the nature of the attack.

SAB/