Iranian School Remains Frozen at Moment of Strike

This will never be a school again. Its bright blue gate is still painted with the symbols that once welcomed children: a map of Iran, oversized pencils, and portraits of greats in science and literature. But now, the walkway beyond it guides visitors past rows of photographs, the AP reports. They show children busy living, at birthday parties and the like. Then come the same small faces on black banners of mourning. This is the emerging memorial to the schoolchildren killed in the attack in the earliest moments of the war that began with US and Israeli attacks across Iran on Feb. 28. The strikes hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab.

Iranian officials said more than 100 students were killed. Months later, the Trump administration still has not directly accepted responsibility for the strike or released the Pentagon's findings. An AP investigation found evidence that at least one US missile hit the school.; another report blamed a series of human errors. Classrooms remain frozen mid-lesson at the badly damaged two-story school, with desks half-buried and ceilings collapsed. There have been calls to preserve the ruins as a historical record. Hormozgan Gov. Mohammad Ashouri Taziani has said the building would be turned into a war museum and memorial. Nearby, a section of Minab's cemetery has been dedicated to those killed. Families and others move quietly across the grave-marked artificial grass. Residents said three bodies still have not been found.