Blood-stained school bags, pics of killed Minab kids accompany Iran team to Pak

Blood-stained school bags, shoes, white flowers and photographs of children killed in strikes at a school in Iranian town Minab were placed in the front row of a plane that carried a delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Pakistan for talks with the US.

The move was seen as a powerful message by Iran to show the world the human toll of the ongoing West Asia conflict. “My companions on this flight—Minab 168,” Ghalibaf shared on X alongside a picture showing him looking at the children’s belongings and photos.

Iran has named its delegation “Minab 168”, in reference to the schoolchildren reportedly killed on the first day of the US-Israel strikes on Iran. The Iranian embassy in South Africa reposted the image with a message: “We will never forget the children of Minab.”

According to Iranian officials, over 160 children were killed on February 28 during the alleged strikes on Shajareh Tayyibeh girls elementary school in Minab, a town in southern Iran. Days later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi shared an aerial image showing mass graves being prepared for the victims. He condemned the attack, calling it “cold-blooded murders” and blaming the US for it.

The Iranian delegation arrived in Islamabad early Saturday and was received by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Army chief Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The talks are seen as a crucial step toward de-escalating tensions and potentially ending the conflict.

The Iranian embassy in India posted a picture of Ghalibaf sitting in the cockpit of the plane and wrote: “Captain Ghalibaf, a professional pilot of Airbus commercial aircraft, will steer the negotiations on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His record of safe take-offs and safe landings is remarkable.”