'My companions': Iran team's Minab reminder for US on flight to Pakistan for talks

US-Iran Talks in Pakistan: Blood-soaked satchels, small shoes, and photographs of Minab's victims flew to Islamabad in the front row, a silent, devastating reminder of what brought these negotiations into being.

US-Iran Talks in Pakistan: When Iran's delegation boarded its flight to Islamabad for peace talks with the United States, it did not travel alone. Arranged in the front row of the aircraft were blood-soaked school bags, a pair of small shoes, white flowers, and photographs, the belongings of children killed in the opening strikes of the war. They were not placed there by accident. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who leads the Iranian negotiating team, shared a photograph of the scene on X, formerly Twitter. He is pictured looking quietly at the children's images and their few remaining possessions. His caption was brief: "My companions on this flight. #Minab168."

The Iranian delegation travelling to Islamabad has formally named itself Minab 168, after the schoolchildren killed when US-Israeli strikes hit the town of Minab on the first day of the war.

The Iranian Embassy in South Africa reshared the image with its own message, "We will never forget the children of Minab, ever."

What happened at Minab

On 28th February, the opening day of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, strikes hit Shajareh Tayyibeh School, a girls' primary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab. More than 160 children were reportedly killed.

In the days that followed, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi shared aerial imagery appearing to show mass graves being prepared for what he described as "innocent" girls. In the same post, he directed his words squarely at President Trump. "The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran," Araghchi wrote. "It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils. Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone. These crimes against the Iranian people will not go unanswered."

Washington has consistently denied any deliberate strike on the school. Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, suggested the destruction was caused by Iranian munitions. "We think it was done by Iran. Because they are very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever," he said.

That explanation sits uncomfortably alongside a New York Times investigation, which concluded that a Tomahawk missile struck the school building as the result of a targeting error by the US military. Tomahawk missiles are used exclusively by the United States among the parties involved in the conflict.

Islamabad receives the delegations

The Iranian party landed in Pakistan in the early hours of Saturday and was received with considerable ceremony. Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi were all present at the airport to receive the delegation, a reception that underlined Pakistan's investment in positioning itself as a credible host for the talks.

Ghalibaf will lead the Iranian side at the negotiating table, joined by Foreign Minister Araghchi and twelve other officials representing the full breadth of Tehran's political, military and economic establishment.

The American delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, arrived separately. Vance is accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner. His visit marks the first time a sitting US Vice President has set foot in Pakistan since Joe Biden made the trip in 2011.

The two sides are set to discuss Tehran's 10-point ceasefire proposal, a document that, as yet, shares little common ground with Washington's own framework. The schoolchildren's belongings, arranged carefully in that front-row seat, will not be part of the formal agenda. But their presence on the flight ensures they cannot be absent from the room.