PREVIEW

First-grade pupils sit at desks decorated with portraits, red roses and Iranian flags at Fatemeh Zahra Girls' Primary School in Tehran, Iran, on September 21, 2026. The ceremony, known as Jashn-e Shokoufeha, or the Festival of Blossoms, marks the start of school for first-grade pupils across Iran. Iranian state media said about 1.154 million first-grade students were beginning school nationwide this year.