Minab School Bombing Families Join Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Funeral in Tehran

Families of children killed in an airstrike on an elementary school in Minab joined tens of thousands of mourners in central Tehran for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which began as the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

“1 of 4 - Published Large crowds of black-clad mourners have gathered outside Tehran's main mosque to pay their respects to Iran's former supreme leader on the first day of his funeral commemorations”

BBC

The Washington Post said the Minab schoolchildren were killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, and it placed the funeral gathering among the tens of thousands of mourners in central Tehran.

BBC

The NZ Herald reported that at least 175 civilians died at the girls’ elementary school in Minab, “most of them students,” in what it said appeared to be a strike by a US Tomahawk missile.

The BBC said Khamenei’s body was lying in state at the Grand Mosalla ahead of burial in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday, with authorities expecting 15-20 million people to attend ceremonies across Iran and Iraq over the coming days.

NBC News described the start of the official funeral period as a weeklong mourning period, with massive crowds showing up Saturday at the Grand Mosalla for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.

The Times of India reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had yet to make a public appearance as thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran for the funeral ceremonies, with Iranian authorities announcing no plans for him to attend.

The BBC said the ceremonies were taking place more than four months after Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes, and it described supporters chanting slogans against the US and in support of revenge for the ayatollah’s killing.

Euronews

The NZ Herald said Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led the ceremony instead of Mojtaba, and it reported that Ahmad Vahidi, the recently appointed commander of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also present.

After the prayer concluded, the NZ Herald reported that isolated chants broke out invoking Vahidi’s name: “Vahidi!, Vahidi! Revenge! Revenge!”

The Washington Post framed the funeral as a moment when families of Minab schoolchildren—killed in the airstrike—were among the mourners gathered in central Tehran for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral.

More than 120 days after the Minab school bombing, Euronews reported that an Associated Press investigation found the Trump administration had not published the Pentagon’s investigation findings, despite the U.S. military having early evidence the school had been hit.

“IE 11 is not supported”

NBC News

Euronews said the AP reconstructed the attack on the morning of February 28 using open-source information, video footage, human rights reports, and interviews, and it described an accountability gap leaving victims’ families without answers about what happened that morning.

The Associated Press reporting described how a U.S. official said the Pentagon had known since the first reports that it had carried out strikes around the site, but needed time to verify Iranian claims about the school’s damage before opening an official investigation.

Euronews also reported that inside the Pentagon, criticism included a former Pentagon official who said the bombing occurred amid changes by the Trump administration aimed at reducing the number of personnel tasked with limiting civilian harm, and it cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth focusing on increasing lethality in military operations.

In parallel, Mideast News said the incident left dozens of children dead and remained shrouded in American official silence, noting that the U.S. military had near-immediate evidence indicating the school site was struck while the Trump administration had not yet accepted direct responsibility or officially announced the results of the Pentagon’s investigation.