Dr. Mehdi Taheri
Dr. Mehdi TaheriForty days have passed since a tragedy that profoundly shook the conscience of humanity. In the early hours of the U.S. and Israeli military assault on Iran, on February 28, 2026, an American missile struck a school in the city of Minab. It was a place with no trace of military activity or strategic significance—only classrooms filled with innocent children. On that tragic morning, dozens of students, whose only dreams were to learn and to live, were mercilessly silenced amid fire and blood.
As an Iranian Muslim, I strongly condemn this heart-wrenching human tragedy. The deliberate killing of innocent children in a school is not only a war crime, but a clear and unforgivable crime against humanity. There can be no moral, legal, or humanitarian justification for targeting civilians—especially the most vulnerable and defenseless members of society.
Regrettably, this horrific scene is not confined to Minab alone. Over the past year, the world has witnessed the systematic killing of children in Gaza. Schools, hospitals, and refugee camps across the Gaza Strip have repeatedly come under attack by U.S. and Israeli missiles. Thousands of Palestinian children have lost their lives beneath the rubble of residential buildings, while the international community stood by in silence. Now, the same weapons and the same brutal policies are being turned against Iranian children as well.
I call upon the international community, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and all human rights organizations to:
1. Unequivocally condemn this blatant crime and formally designate its perpetrators as war criminals.
2. Launch an independent, impartial, and transparent international investigation into the attack on the Minab School, as well as other assaults on civilians in Iran and Gaza.
3. Ensure that both the perpetrators and those who ordered these crimes are held fully accountable by bringing them before the International Criminal Court, without exception or leniency.
4. Enforce a comprehensive ban on arms sales to aggressor regimes and halt all forms of political and military support to states engaged in acts of state-sponsored terrorism.
Remaining silent in the face of the mass killing of innocent children is, in effect, tantamount to complicity in the crime. Whether in Minab, Gaza, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the world, when a child is buried beneath the rubble, an entire future is silenced forever. As human beings—regardless of nationality or faith—we bear the responsibility to raise our voices and declare: “Enough is enough.”
I pay tribute to the innocent children martyred in Minab and extend my heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to their grieving families. This tragic event will never be forgotten, and I remain confident that a day will come when justice—though delayed—will ultimately prevail.
اللهم العن قتلة الأطفال. العدالة للشهداء
The author is Cultural Attaché in Embassy of Iran, Islamabad
