A Bitter Goodbye and a Birthday at the Grave: The Father of Mohammad Sadra Speaks

Mehdi Zareipour, the father of 9-year-old Mohammad Sadra, a third-grade student at Minab school, shares the story of his son's last day—which happened to be his birthday. "That morning, unlike any other day, Mohammad Sadra asked me to drive him to school myself. As he got out of the car, he hugged me with his childish affection and went to class; I didn't know that would be his last hug." Minutes after the explosion, Mohammad Sadra's father was among the first to reach the ruins of the school. He recalls: "Nothing was left of the school but piles of rubble. Everyone had come to help—not just for their own child, but to save any child who might still be alive under the ruins. Today is my son's birthday, but we are marking it at his grave, cherishing the memory of that last warm hug."