According to the Anadolu Agency, two school backpacks carried by children killed during recent attacks in southern Iran have been sent to the United Nations Museum in a deeply symbolic appeal aimed at drawing the world’s attention to the human cost of war.
Iranian officials say the bags belonged to Moein Zeinali and Mohammad Shahdusti, students at Shajareh Tayyebeh School in the city of Minab, which Tehran claims was struck during attacks launched by the United States and Israel earlier in the conflict.
The backpacks, once filled with notebooks and school supplies, are now being presented as reminders of lives cut short.
Hamed Alamati, director of Iran’s Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, said the items were sent to the UN “to ensure the world acknowledges the tragic injustice.”
“The backpacks symbolize the injustice and oppression against children and they shed light on the crime committed by the US army and Zionist regime,” Alamati told Iranian media on Saturday.
Iranian authorities say the strike on the school killed more than 168 children and teachers, though those figures have not been independently verified.
The move comes amid continuing regional tensions after weeks of confrontation involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington and Tel Aviv of targeting civilian areas during the conflict, claims both countries have denied in past military disputes.
For many, the image of abandoned school bags carries a painful emotional weight. Around the world, children’s belongings left behind after wars and disasters have become lasting symbols of innocence lost in conflict.
Iranian officials say they hope the backpacks displayed at the UN Museum will force the international community to confront what they describe as the devastating consequences of war on ordinary families and schoolchildren.
The United Nations has not yet issued a public response regarding the reported delivery of the backpacks.
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