By Al-Ahed News  

A quiet stretch outside the Iranian embassy in Brussels turned into a scene of mourning this week as activists gathered for a memorial event titled “Angels of Minab,” condemning the US-“Israeli” war on Iran and remembering the children martyred in the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab.

Around 50 people took part in the vigil, which was backed by Member of the European Parliament Milan Uhrík and the anti-war coalition L'Initiative européenne contre la guerre. Participants carried pink school backpacks, children’s toys, photographs of the victims and candles placed along the embassy walls in memory of those martyred.

Signs held by demonstrators read: “Minab’s Angels are the children who never returned from school,” “Stop the murder of children,” and “Europe mourns with Iran.”

The gathering focused on the February 28, 2026 airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School, which organizers described as part of a joint American-“Israeli” aggression against Iran. According to statements made during the event, more than 160 people were martyred, most of them schoolchildren.

Speaking at the rally, Milan Uhrík said the attack could not simply be brushed aside as an accident, pointing to what he described as a wider pattern of attacks on civilians across the region.

“Regarding the attack on the school, whether it was intentional or not, I suspect it was done deliberately,” Uhrík said. “Because we see what 'Israel' is capable of in Gaza. We see what they do to civilians, children, women and the elderly in Lebanon and Beirut. Therefore, we understand that they are capable of attacking civilians, intimidating people, sowing fear among the population, and thus trying to win the war.”

He also accused European leaders of remaining silent in the face of crimes committed against civilians in Iran.

“This is a war crime, and the European Union and European countries must not be involved in such actions,” he said. “The European Commission and European leaders are applying double standards. They fail to investigate such crimes because they are weak. They are unable to confront the aggressive policies of 'Israel' and the United States.”

One of the organizers told the crowd that the children of Minab had simply gone to school that morning and “never returned home,” rejecting attempts to describe the bombing as “collateral damage” or a technical mistake.

“When a military force strikes a school during classes, even though the civilian nature of the site is known, it is no longer just a tragic accident,” an activist from the European Initiative Against War said. “It becomes a serious violation of the rules of war.”

As candles flickered beside children’s backpacks and toys, the vigil carried less the atmosphere of a political rally and more that of a public funeral held far from home.

Organizers said similar anti-war events are expected to take place in other European cities in the coming weeks as pressure grows against continued US and “Israeli” aggression on Iran.