Iranian youth Olympic team to compete in Dakar in memory of the boy killed in Minab
Iranian athletes who are expected to compete at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will carry a symbolic name dedicated to Makan Nasiri, a boy who, according to the Iranian National Olympic Committee, was killed in an attack on a school in the city of Minab in southern Iran. The decision was announced ahead of preparations for the competition, which will be held in Senegal from October 31 to November 13, 2026. According to Iranian sources and reports by international media, Makan Nasiri was among the children killed in an air strike on Shajare Tayyebeh Primary School, and his body, according to available information published in April, has not been found. This has given the sporting appearance of young Iranian competitors a strong memorial dimension, beyond the usual framework of sporting results and national representation.
Delegation named “From Makan to Dakar”
The Iranian National Olympic Committee announced that the delegation for the Youth Olympic Games will compete under the symbolic name “From Makan to Dakar”. According to the announcement carried by Iranian media, the name was conceived as a tribute to the boy Makan Nasiri and to other children killed in the attack on the school in Minab. Such a decision fits into a broader pattern in which major sporting events, especially those intended for young people, are also used as a space of public remembrance, a message of unity and the presentation of national traumas to an international audience. In this case, the message is aimed at linking the fate of one schoolchild with a generation of young athletes who will represent Iran at a major global competition.
According to a report by Inside the Games, Iranian athletes travelling to the Youth Games in Dakar should “carry the memory” of Makan Nasiri, a schoolboy killed in the first attack in Minab. Press TV reported that this was a decision by the Iranian National Olympic Committee and that Iranian teenagers will go to the competition under a name that directly connects Makan’s name and the host city of the Games. Reports state that Makan was one of the pupils of the school hit in February 2026, when more than one hundred people were killed, primarily children. The casualty figures in the available reports are not entirely consistent: some sources cite 168 people killed, while others speak of at least 165 or 156 dead. Because of these differences, the most precise formulation is that, according to available reports, more than 150 people were killed in the attack.
The attack on the school in Minab and the fate of Makan Nasiri
Minab is a city in Iran’s Hormozgan province, in the south of the country, and the attack on Shajare Tayyebeh Primary School took place on February 28, 2026, according to reports by media that followed the consequences of the conflict. Al Jazeera reported in April that the parents of seven-year-old Makan Nasiri remained the only parents among the families of the killed children who could not bury their child’s remains because his body had not been found. The same source states that the attack occurred on the first day of strikes on Iran which, according to that report, were carried out by the United States of America and Israel. Middle East Eye reported that the attack on the school in Minab claimed at least 165 lives, among them a large number of children, noting that it was a strike described in reports as American-Israeli.
Iranian media and institutions describe the event as an American attack, while some international reports speak of an attack by the United States of America and Israel. Since there is no completely uniform formulation in all publicly available sources, it is important in reporting to state the attribution clearly: the Iranian National Olympic Committee and Iranian state media emphasize American responsibility, while some international media also include Israel in the description. In any case, the key confirmed fact in publicly available reports is that the school in Minab was hit, that a large number of children were killed and that Makan Nasiri became one of the most recognizable symbols of the suffering because his body, according to statements by his family and media reports, has not been found.
Dakar 2026 as the first Olympic competition on African soil
The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar will be held from October 31 to November 13, 2026, according to official information from the International Olympic Committee. It is the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games and the first Olympic sporting event to be held on the African continent. The host is Senegal, and competitions will be held at several locations, including Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly. The Games were originally due to be held in 2022, but Senegal and the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone them to 2026, which was officially confirmed in 2020.
According to data from the International Olympic Committee, Dakar 2026 is expected to bring together around 2,700 young athletes from around the world. The programme of the Games is conceived not only as a competitive event but also as a festival of sport, education, culture and international exchange among young people. For this reason, Iran’s decision to link the appearance of its delegation with Makan Nasiri concerns not only sporting symbolism, but also the question of how countries use the Olympic stage for broader social messages. The Youth Olympic Games are regularly presented as an event focused on peace, solidarity and youth development, so the memorial character of Iran’s appearance fits into the message about children and young people as the most vulnerable victims of conflict.
Iran in preparations for the Youth Games
Iranian sports institutions had already begun preparations for participation in the Games in Dakar. According to an announcement by Iran’s Ministry of Sport and Youth, an expert meeting was held on Iran’s participation in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with the participation of ministry officials and the National Olympic Committee. Such meetings consider the state of sports federations, qualification processes, the preparation of young competitors and organisational issues accompanying the departure of a delegation to a major multi-sport competition. In Iran’s case, the preparations now also have an additional public framework, because the name of the delegation is connected with the memory of a child killed in an attack on a school.
Iran traditionally pays considerable attention to sports in which it has a long competitive history, including wrestling, taekwondo, weightlifting, combat sports and certain disciplines in which Iranian athletes have achieved international results. The Youth Olympic Games differ from the classic Olympic Games because they bring together teenagers and have a stronger educational and developmental character. For that reason, every national delegation, in addition to medals and sporting results, also represents youth-oriented sports policy. Iran will, according to announcements by its institutions, connect its appearance in Dakar with a narrative of remembrance, resilience and the representation of children affected by war.
The sporting stage and the political context
Major international sporting events are often presented as a space outside politics, but in practice they can rarely be completely separated from it. The Olympic movement officially emphasizes the universality of sport, peaceful competition and the protection of athletes from political pressure. At the same time, national Olympic committees often shape the appearances of their athletes through symbols, delegation names, ceremonies and public messages that reflect broader social circumstances. In the case of the Iranian delegation for Dakar 2026, the memory of Makan Nasiri becomes part of the official identity of the youth team.
Such a decision can have several meanings. For Iran, it is a way to speak on the international sporting stage about civilian victims of the attack on the school in Minab. For young athletes, the name of the delegation may be an emotional burden, but also a form of identification with peers who did not survive the conflict. For the international audience, the message raises the question of responsibility for the protection of children in wartime circumstances, but also the question of how sports institutions act when political and humanitarian issues spill over into the competitive space. Since Dakar 2026 will bring together younger athletes, the symbolism of a child killed in a school further emphasizes the sensitivity of the issue.
Differences in publicly available data
Reports on the attack on the school in Minab contain differences in the number of those killed and in the formulation of responsibility for the attack. Press TV and Iranian sources speak of an American attack, while Al Jazeera states that the attacks on Iran were carried out by the United States of America and Israel. Middle East Eye also uses a formulation that includes an American-Israeli air strike. The number of victims varies across sources: some sources cite 168 killed, others at least 165, and some others 156 dead. Such differences may stem from different stages of reporting, subsequent identification of victims, different counting methodologies or the fact that data in wartime circumstances often changes.
For that reason, in public reporting it is especially important to distinguish what has been confirmed from what is being conveyed as the claim of an individual source. It has been confirmed that the Iranian National Olympic Committee, according to announcements carried by the media, decided to give young Olympians a symbolic name connected with Makan Nasiri. It has also been confirmed that official Olympic sources present Dakar 2026 as the first Olympic competition on African soil, with the dates of the event from October 31 to November 13, 2026. When it comes to the attack itself, the most accurate formulation is that, according to available reports, more than 150 people, mostly children, were killed at the school in Minab, and that sources differ on the precise number and the formulation of responsibility.
The memorial message of young athletes
The decision to connect the name of the boy Makan Nasiri with Iran’s appearance at the Youth Olympic Games has strong symbolic weight because it brings together two opposite images: a school destroyed in war and a youth sporting competition conceived as a space of peace. In the public communication of Iranian institutions, Makan is presented as a symbol of children who lost their lives before they had the chance to grow up, be educated and participate in public life. In that sense, the name “From Makan to Dakar” does not refer only to the journey of one sporting delegation, but also to an attempt to transfer the memory of the killed children from the local context of Minab into the global context of the Youth Olympic Games.
Dakar 2026 will be an important event for Senegal, Africa and the Olympic movement, but for the Iranian delegation it is already taking on additional meaning. Young athletes will compete against peers from around the world, at a competition that the International Olympic Committee presents as a combination of sport, education and cultural exchange. At the same time, according to the decision of the Iranian National Olympic Committee, their appearance will be linked to the memory of a boy whose death became a symbol of civilian suffering in Minab. In this combination of sport and memory lies the main message of Iran’s appearance: that the name of a child lost in war should be heard at an event dedicated to young people, sport and the future.
Sources:
- Inside the Games – report on the decision of the Iranian delegation for the Youth Olympic Games and the memory of Makan Nasiri (link)
- Press TV – announcement on the name of the Iranian delegation “From Makan to Dakar” and the decision of the Iranian National Olympic Committee (link)
- Al Jazeera – report on Makan Nasiri, the attack on the school in Minab and the claim that his body has not been found (link)
- Middle East Eye – report on the names and ages of children killed in the attack on the school in Minab (link)
- International Olympic Committee / Olympics.com – official information on the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the dates of the event and the significance of the competition (link)
- International Olympic Committee – overview of the Youth Olympic Games and confirmation that Dakar 2026 will be the first edition held in Africa (link)
- Ministry of Sport and Youth of Iran – information on the expert meeting on Iran’s participation in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (link)