Makan Nasiri

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Makan Nasiri
Makan Nasiri in his classroom, with the Iranian flag painted on his hand.
Bornc. 2019
Died(2026-02-28)February 28, 2026 (aged 7)
Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school, Minab, Hormozgan province, Iran
Known forVictim of the 2026 Minab school attack; remains never recovered
Parent(s)Sirus Nasiri (father), Asieh Rahinejad (mother)

Makan Nasiri (ماکان نصیری; born c. 2019 – killed February 28, 2026) was a 7‑year‑old Iranian boy who was killed in a U.S. missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab,[1][2] Hormozgan province, Iran, on the first day of the 2026 U.S.–Israeli military offensive against Iran. He is the only child from the attack whose remains were never recovered,[3][2][4] despite a 46‑day search of the rubble.[2] An empty grave was created in his honor, and his belongings—a blood‑stained blue sweater and a single cream‑colored sneaker[5]—are preserved in a glass case at a neighborhood mosque.[2] According to Hormozgan Chief Justice, Qahramani, experts believe a direct missile strike on Makan Nasiri left no recoverable remains, with only his shoe and torn backpack subsequently found.[6]

Personal life

Makan Nasiri was a first‑grader at Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school. He was the last of the four children in his family.[7] According to his father, Sirus Nasiri, Makan loved sports. The day of the attack was Makan’s seventh birthday, and he wore a blue sweater against the morning cold.[5] He took gymnastics classes. Also, he would help at the local religious center with his family.[3] According to his mother, Asieh Rahinejad, there was a birthmark similar to a mole on Makan's body, that would become more colored in winter. His uncle, Hamzeh Rahinejad, later searched for this birthmark as a means of identification.[2]

Background to his death

The Legal Medicine Organisation of Iran has recorded 3,375 deaths since the start of the 2026 Iran war, among them 383 victims under the age of 19. The toll includes seven infants, 255 children aged one to 12, and 121 adolescents aged 13 to 18. The identities of four victims have yet to be established.[3]

On February 28, 2026, the first day of the U.S.–Israeli military campaign against Iran, a U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab while classes were in session.[2] A second missile struck minutes later. According to the Iranian government, 156 people were killed, including 120 students (73 boys and 47 girls), 26 female teachers (including one who was six months pregnant), seven parents, a school bus driver, and a technician.[3] Iranian officials have characterized the attack as the deadliest civilian incident of the entire war.[3] According to the Tehran Times, the incident is known as "the most heinous massacre of innocent children in the world", which left at least 168 school dead.[2]

At approximately 11:16 a.m. on the day of the attack, Makan's mother received a phone call from his teacher, Mandana Salari, instructing her to pick up Makan immediately because the school was under attack. Unaware that war had begun, she contacted the school bus driver. While still on the phone, she heard a massive explosion. Makan's parents rushed to the school, arriving to find the buildings reduced to rubble.[2] Makan's father searched the rubble from the afternoon of February 28 until 2:30 a.m. the next day, finding nothing.[3] A 20‑member team of relatives, led by Makan's uncle Hamzeh Rahinejad, continued the search for 46 days. Hamzeh had a gauze bandage along with a plastic bag to collect any piece of flesh or bone, searching for the family's birthmark, but found no trace of Makan.[2]

On the 38th day, Hamzeh discovered a single cream‑colored sneaker about 100 meters from the destroyed school, among trees in a nearby garden. A wrinkled, blood‑stained blue sweater was also recovered. When the sneaker was shown to Asieh Rahinejad, she fainted. No other remains or personal effects of Makan have ever been found.[2]

Search halted and an empty grave

After 46 days, Iranian authorities informed the family that the search had been closed.[2] Makan is the only one still missing among the 156 people killed on February 28, though the remains of some victims were identified and returned to their families through DNA testing.[5] A symbolic empty grave was created for Makan in Minab's martyrs' cemetery, alongside the graves of other victims. His remaining belongings are displayed in a small glass box at the Mahdieh mosque in the neighborhood of his family.[2] In April 2026, Asieh Rahinejad told a memorial ceremony in Isfahan that she was “terrified by the idea of having to place Makan in the grave”. “I had prayed to God for help, and it may explain why we couldn't find him," she added. Speaking on behalf of the parents of the Minab school victims, she added: "We want them to take revenge for our children's massacre."[2]

Qahramani, the Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province stated that, due to the high destructive power of the missiles used, no remains of the child had been found even after more than 100 days and the collection of over 100 DNA samples. According to him, the most recent search efforts—which involved looking for hair and other remains—yielded no trace of Nasiri, and DNA tests conducted on the samples returned negative for him. He added that experts believe a missile struck his body directly, leaving no physical remains; only one shoe and his torn backpack were recovered.[6]

Legacy

Makan Nasiri has become a symbol of civilian suffering in the conflict. In May 2026, Iran named its delegation to the Youth Olympic Games after him.[8][9] A street in Khomeinishahr, his father's birthplace, is planned to be named in his memory.[10] Iranian director Siyamak Mardane announced that he had written a screenplay about Makan's life and disappearance.[11][12]

An international "1+168" campaign, referring to Makan plus the other victims, was launched under the slogan "I Am the Voice of Minab," involving the families and media activists from multiple countries.[2] Makan's mother later told reporters: "It is an honor for me to be the mother of Makan."[8]

See also

References

  1. Roth, Andrew; McClure, Tess (2026-06-21). "Four months after the horrific Iran school bombing, fears grow that Trump and Hegseth will bury the truth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-25. The attack on a girls' elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab was one of the US military's deadliest civilian bombings in decades.
  2. "Makan: Lost at School". Tehran Times. April 19, 2026.
  3. "Makan Nasiri, the only child still missing from the school bombed in Iran". Al Jazeera. April 23, 2026.
  4. Kamaei, Kasra (26 May 2026). "At Iranian school devastated by airstrike, grieving families say they will never forget". PBS News. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  5. Saberi, Zohreh (6 May 2026). "Iranians recount desperate attempts to find survivors after school bombing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  6. "دادگستری هرمزگان: متأسفانه موشک مستقیماً به بدن شهید ماکان نصیری اصابت کرده/ حتی تار مویی هم از ماکان پیدا نشد/ پس از انجام بیش از ۱۰۰ نمونه‌برداری دی‌ان‌ای، هیچ اثری از پیکر این شهید کوچک نیست؛ فقط یک لنگه کفش و کیف پاره شده او پیدا شده" [Hormozgan Justice Department: Unfortunately, the missile directly hit the body of martyr Makan Nasiri/ Not even a hair was found from Makan/ After more than 100 DNA samples were taken, there is no trace of the body of this little martyr; only a piece of his shoe and a torn bag were found]. پایگاه خبری تحلیلی انتخاب (in Persian). Entekhab analytical News website. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  7. Staff (4 June 2026). "روایت تکان دهنده درباره تنها دانش آموز مفقودالاثر مدرسه میناب/ پدر ماکان: یا در سردخانه ام یا در خانه چشم انتظار". donya-e-eqtesad (in Persian). Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  8. "Minab martyrs; 'It is an honor for me to be mother of Makan Nasiri'". ABNA24. April 28, 2026.
  9. Staff (17 May 2026). "Iran youth Olympians at Dakar 2026 carry the memory of". Karlobag.eu. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  10. Staff (20 April 2026). "Makan Nasiri: Lost at school". Mehr News Agency. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  11. "Makan Nasiri's story to be adapted into film following Minab school massacre". İlkha Haber Ajansı (in Turkish). Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  12. "فیلم ماکان نصیری ساخته می‌شود؛ روایتی از ۲ روز قبل از حادثه" [Makan Nasiri's film is being made; a story of 2 days before the incident]. خبرگزاری مهر (in Persian). Mehr News Agency. 26 April 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.