{"id":310890,"date":"2026-03-06T22:23:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=310890"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:44:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:14:01","slug":"mass-burial-of-students-in-iran-haunting-photo-mired-in-false-fact-check-muddle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/mass-burial-of-students-in-iran-haunting-photo-mired-in-false-fact-check-muddle\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass burial of students in Iran: Haunting photos mired in false fact-check muddle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US\u2013Israel joint strikes on Iran, which began on February 28, have reportedly taken a heavy civilian toll, including a devastating attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab in southern Iran. Iranian state media reported that at least 168 people \u2014 most of them schoolchildren \u2014 were killed in the bombing, while nearly 100 others were injured.<\/p>\n

A report by The Guardian<\/a> painted a picture of the destruction: “Photographs and verified videos from the site…show children\u2019s bodies lying partly buried under the debris. In one video, a very small child\u2019s severed arm is pulled from the rubble.”\u00a0The UNESCO condemned<\/a> the bombing, calling it a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n

In this context, several users, including Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate<\/a>, posted an aerial photo showing proceedings of a mass burial, with graves being dug by bulldozers.<\/p>\n

Shrinate wrote that graves were being dug to bury schoolgirls killed in US-Israel bombing.<\/p>\n

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Devastating<\/p>\n

165 graves being dug for the girls killed by US-Israel bombing on their school<\/p>\n

This was done by US-Israel in the name of empowering women<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf7 Iran Foreign Minister pic.twitter.com\/Y8SfXjndIk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) March 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pro-BJP influencer and Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj<\/a>) was quick to call out this post, claiming that the photo of the mass grave used by Supriya Shrinate was an old photograph showing COVID-stricken Indonesia. (Archive<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

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This picture is of Indonesia during Covid \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/ekIc5FxK6m<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) March 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the time of this article being written, Shashank Jha’s post which sought to debunk the claims of the photo being shot in Iran, has been viewed more than 6 lakh times, and has been re-shared more than 3,000 times.<\/p>\n

On March 4, Jha again ‘fact-checked’ another photo depicting the same burial site, this time replying to an X post by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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This picture is of Indonesia during Covid \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/nTKnKEesug<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fact Check<\/h4>\n

On running a reverse image search on the photograph shared by Shrinate, we traced it to an X post uploaded on March 3<\/a> by Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. In the post, he claimed the graves were being dug for \u201cmore than 160 innocent young girls who were killed in the US-Israeli bombing\u201d of a primary school in Minab.<\/p>\n

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These are graves being dug for more than 160 innocent young girls who were killed in the US-Israeli bombing of a primary school. Their bodies were torn to shreds.<\/p>\n

This is how “rescue” promised by Mr. Trump looks in reality.<\/p>\n

From Gaza to Minab, innocents murdered in cold blood. pic.twitter.com\/cRdJ3BELOn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The photo was also used in reports published by NDTV<\/a>, Hindustan Times<\/a>, India Today<\/a>, Deccan Herald<\/a> and others.<\/p>\n