A poignant photo of an Iranian boy and third-grader Mikaeel Mirdoraghi, who smiled and said goodbye to his mother on the steps of his house, is spreading on social networks. It was his last greeting before he was killed in a devastating airstrike on an elementary school in the city of Minabu.
The photo published by the Iranian state agencies IRNA and Press TV has become a symbol of the terrible tragedy that happened on Saturday morning. Local sources and emergency services state that it was a deliberate US-Israeli airstrike.
#BREAKING
The last image of Mikaeel Mirdoraghi, a third-grade Iranian student who was murdered in the US-Israeli airstrike on his elementary school in Minab, Iran.Waving his last farewell to his mother. pic.twitter.com/LA2NG9gXo3
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) March 5, 2026
The target of the attack was a school complex in southern Minab, killing at least 165 students, mostly girls between the ages of 7 and 12. Survivors testify that shortly after the first strike, a second one followed, targeting the area where parents were trying to save their children, described as a “double-tap” tactic.
According to the testimony of the Red Crescent medical staff, a group of schoolgirls was initially moved to the prayer hall for protection, but a second bomb hit the same place, killing almost everyone present. Rohollah, the father of one of the victims, described the horror: his daughter survived the first impact, but was killed in the second, and was recognized only by her school bag.
Videos circulating online show citizens pulling out survivors with their bare hands, while planes return and bomb the same area again. Satellite images show that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) buildings about 200 meters away suffered minor damage, indicating that the strikes specifically targeted the school and children.
A collective funeral was held on Tuesday, and 69 victims have still not been identified due to severe body damage. Parents recognized children by the remains of their school bags and gold bracelets.
(Vijesti.ba)
