New Delhi: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reached New Delhi on Wednesday. BRIC Foreign ministers meeting on a plane carrying a clear message from Tehran: Minab168. The inscription on the plane is a reference to the 168 schoolchildren Iran says were killed in a US strike on a school in Minab on February 28, underscoring the human toll of the war, even as diplomatic engagement continues.The #Minab168 markings are prominently visible on the fuselage in photographs of Araghchi boarding a plane in Tehran.Araghchi’s visit comes at a fraught moment for West Asia, with the ongoing conflict involving Iran and the US-Israel axis expected to dominate the discussion at the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in Delhi. He is also expected to hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in which energy security, regional stability and connectivity are likely to be on the agenda.The reference to Araghchi’s plane points to one of the deadliest and most emotional events of the ongoing conflict in Iran.

What happened in Minab?

On February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, a city in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province near the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked in an attack that Iranian officials say killed 168 schoolchildren. The attack quickly became a defining symbol of civilian loss in the war. UNICEF said the victims included children aged 7 to 12, calling it a stark reminder of the conflict’s cost on civilians.The location of Minab further increased the controversy. The school was located close to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facility, raising questions about whether it was caught in an attack targeting nearby military infrastructure. The Pentagon later launched a high-level investigation into the incident after initial findings suggested the US military may have been responsible, with the report indicating the possibility of faulty or outdated intelligence.