Tehran: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has paid tribute to teachers and students who were killed in the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, stressing the need to preserve the historical record of the war and pass it on to future generations. Speaking at the 39th Conference of Heads of Education Departments across Iran on Monday, Araghchi outlined the diplomatic efforts made during the military aggression and emphasized the role of the education system in documenting the historic epic of the Iranian people.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, he specifically honored the martyred teachers and students of Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, southern Iran, describing them as enduring symbols of the country's resistance. 'The 40-day imposed war had its heroes; from the martyred Leader of Iran (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei) to the martyred students and teachers of Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, whose innocent martyrdom became an enduring epic,' he said.

He added that the deliberate missile attack on the school, which killed 168 students and teachers 'in a single moment,' was a crime that would never be erased from the historical memory of Iranians or the conscience of humanity. Araghchi said Iran's resilience and victory rested on reliance on God, the leadership of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, national unity, and the strong defense provided by the Iranian armed forces.

On the first day of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran on February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab was targeted in a US missile strike, killing at least 175 people, including 168 schoolgirls.