The Iranian school struck in the war’s earliest attacks is now a memorial for children

The Iranian school struck in the war’s earliest attacks is now a memorial for children 1 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 2 of 5 | A woman walks at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 3 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 4 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 5 of 5 | Women walk at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 1 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 1 of 5 A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | A woman walks at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 2 of 5 A woman walks at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 3 of 5 A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 4 of 5 A general view of the school that was hit by a strike on Feb. 28, is seen in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Women walk at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 5 of 5 Women walk at the graveyard of the school children who were killed after their school was a hit by a strike on Feb. 28, in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Minab, Iran (AP) — This will never be a school again.Its bright blue gate is still painted with the symbols that once welcomed children: Iran’s map, oversized pencils and portraits of legends in science and literature.But now, the walkway beyond it guides visitors past rows of photographs. They show children busy living, at birthday parties and more. 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 the United States and Israel began across Iran on Feb. 28. 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, even as an Associated Press investigation found evidence that at least one U.S. missile hit the school. Attention turned to Minab again in the past week when a new round of U.S. strikes along Iran’s southern coast struck a wedding and other areas, sending some of the injured to a hospital in the community.The AP visited the badly damaged two-story building whose classrooms remain frozen mid-lesson, with desks half buried and ceilings collapsed. 4 MIN READ 2 MIN READ 3 MIN READ 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.