'Small Bags, Big Message': Iran Football Team Hold School Bags During National Anthem In Emotional Tribute To Minab School Girls | VIDEO

The Iran national football team has protested over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the US-Israel-Iran war. In a viral video on social media, the players can be seen holding small backpacks during the national anthem, honouring the little girls killed in Minab. They also wore black armbands for their game against Nigeria in Turkey.

Iran were taking on Nigeria in a friendly in the Turkish resort town of Belek as part of their preparations for this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, though their participation remains uncertain due to the conflict that erupted late last month.

The men stood in a line, each holding pink and purple bags tied with ribbons, as a symbolic tribute to the victims of the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school. According to Tehran, the strike killed more than 175 people, including many children and teachers, on the first day of the joint US-Israeli offensive. The colours and presentation of the bags were meant to reflect the innocence of the young lives lost and to highlight the human cost of the conflict.

A girls' primary school in Minab, southern Iran, was hit during airstrikes linked to the Operation Roaring Lion on February 28, 2026. The Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school was destroyed by a missile while students were in class, killing more than 100 people, most of them children.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday slammed the United States and Israel for the attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran. Calling the actions a war crime, he urged the world to come together against the injustice towards Iran and underlined that the country would continue to defend itself as long as needed.

This comes after US-Israeli strikes continue to target key infrastructure in Iran. Earlier, US President Trump signalled a thaw in operations against Iran, saying that Iran had sought a seven-day pause on American strikes targeting its energy infrastructure, but he decided to extend the window to 10 days to April 6, and the strikes by the combined US-Israel forces continue.