Tehran is in shock – and now we have fled with heavy hearts | Israel-Iran battle Information

[ad_1] Gilan, Iran – The prospect of struggle appeared to creep nearer to actuality with every passing day, however maybe few of the hundreds of thousands who've been compelled to desert their houses throughout Iran up to now week – together with myself – may have identified this new actuality would impose itself so harshly or abruptly.

The primary explosions jolted folks awake in Tehran shortly after 3am on June 13, when a lot of Israeli fighter jets and drones attacked dozens of areas throughout the nation, and explosives-laden quadcopters and anti-fortification Spike guided missiles had been launched by Israeli brokers from inside Iran.

Total residential buildings had been levelled within the capital, army websites and air defence batteries had been focused, and above-ground services supporting nuclear enrichment halls buried deep inside mountains in Isfahan province’s Natanz had been bombed. Dozens of civilians had been killed, as had been a lot of prime army commanders and nuclear scientists.

On this photograph launched by the Iranian Crimson Crescent Society, rescuers work on the scene of an explosion after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, June 13, 2025 [Iranian Red Crescent Society via AP] Tehran was in shock the first morning after the attacks , as folks struggled to course of the terrifying information and consider their choices whereas the authorities scrambled to mount a concerted response to the shock hits.

Because the assaults got here on a Friday morning – the final day of the weekend in Iran – most metropolis streets had been eerily quiet within the quick aftermath, apart from these the place Israeli bombs had made an impression.

Quickly, nonetheless, hours-long queues had shaped at virtually each single gas station throughout the sprawling capital, which has a inhabitants of almost 10 million folks and holds greater than 15 million throughout busy workdays, as hundreds of thousands additionally commute from neighbouring cities like Karaj.

I went out to go to a number of of the focused websites in western Tehran: A number of houses had been destroyed within the Patrice Lumumba neighbourhood, a number of flooring of a 15-storey constructing offering lodging for college professors had caved in at Saadat Abad and adjoining buildings had been broken, whereas the highest two flooring of one other residential constructing had been utterly worn out in Marzdaran. All had been successful targeted assassinations – together with of a number of prime nuclear scientists – and lots of civilians had been additionally killed.

Particles from an residence constructing is seen on prime of parked automobiles after a strike in Tehran, Iran, early on Friday, June 13, 2025 [Vahid Salemi/AP] Later that night time, Iran’s armed forces started launching a whole bunch of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation. Practically one week on, a minimum of 16 rounds of Iranian strikes have been launched, with no quick finish in sight as Tehran says it is going to proceed to hit again as long as Israel is attacking. In the meantime, United States President Donald Trump teases triggering an all-out regional war by instantly coming into the struggle alongside Israel, which he and Washington’s Western allies already help with cutting-edge munitions, an enormous fleet of refuelling planes and intelligence efforts.

For the following few days, the Israeli assaults had been ringing out throughout Tehran and the nation through the daytime, terrorising civilians who noticed the smoke and heard the explosions get nearer to their houses or locations of labor. Each at residence and at Al Jazeera’s Tehran bureau, I heard many explosive impacts, with a number of the nearer ones solely about 2km (1.2 miles) away.

Most of Tehran was shut down after the Israeli assaults ramped up, and the streets and petrol stations had been extra crowded than ever after Israel and Trump told people to evacuate immediately . The federal government mentioned metro stations and mosques had been opened as 24-hour shelters because it has constructed no devoted shelters or provide you with any clear safety protocols, regardless of the ever-present menace of struggle.

Crimson Crescent Society rescuers work on the scene of an explosion following an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, June 13, 2025 [Iranian Red Crescent Society via AP] On Monday, after three days of evaluating the state of affairs, my household and I made a decision to hitch the numerous others who had already fled Tehran.

After hurriedly packing some garments and some belongings in a suitcase, I drove from my very own place to my girlfriend’s home to select her up at about 4pm. Her mother and father, who work in healthcare, wanted to remain in Tehran that day however they've since left as nicely, after Israeli air strikes intensified of their neighbourhood.

We then picked up my mom – together with our 4 cats who've been staying along with her – from her residence in western Tehran, near a serious highway which exits the capital.

Israeli bombs had been falling on a number of areas throughout western Tehran as we scurried to seize the cats and put them of their containers.

The unmistakable sounds of the explosions, which depart a sickening, sinking sensation in your abdomen irrespective of what number of occasions you hear them, solely added to the urgency – particularly for the reason that Israeli army had issued a brand new evacuation menace at about the identical time after which bombed the state television headquarters .

Smoke rises from the constructing of Iran’s state-run tv channel after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on Monday, June 16, 2025 [AP] Fleeing north We left Tehran with heavy hearts, not realizing once we may return. The buildings had been already largely empty of residents.

The sensation that we could not return to the identical intact neighbourhoods was unavoidable, as was the fear we really feel for individuals who needed to depart however couldn't, whether or not as a result of they're nursing a sick member of the family or as a result of they merely lacked the means to take action. Iran’s ailing economy has been dragged below the burden of years of native mismanagement and US sanctions.

The journey north, which normally takes about 4 hours, took near 12. The highways had been a sea of automobiles full of households, pets and belongings. Roadside diners and repair areas brimmed with individuals who had no concept when or how they may return. Many worriedly adopted information of the most recent air strikes.

Near our vacation spot within the north of Iran, checkpoints arrange by armed and masked safety forces made the visitors even worse. They had been stopping some automobiles, largely pick-up vans, since these are what have been utilized by Israeli brokers to smuggle explosive quadcopters and different weapons inside Iran.

I'm scripting this from a small however vibrant metropolis within the province of Gilan in northern Iran. The northern provinces, additionally together with Mazandaran and Golestan, are the place most Iranians have opted to go . They're comparatively near Tehran, have far fewer locations that may very well be potential targets for the Israeli military, and had been already fashionable journey locations with a lot of resorts that many have visited earlier than.

Many right here have opened their houses to folks displaced from different provinces, too. Six million folks have entered Mazandaran alone since final week, in response to Iran’s deputy police chief, Qasem Rezaei.

The authorities are attempting to reassure the inhabitants, particularly Iranians who've fled to the northern provinces, that the federal government faces no issues in offering for his or her fundamental wants, particularly meals and gas.

The aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s State TV broadcaster constructing in Tehran, Iran, seen on June 19, 2025 [Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters] However within the meantime, 90 million Iranians have been thrown right into a state of uncertainty, frustration and anger whereas attempting to take care of hope for a semblance of regular life when the nation shouldn't be always below menace of army motion or remoted from the worldwide group.

For extraordinary civilians, the state of affairs is critically compounded by the truth that they've been utterly lower off from the web for days, with web observatory NetBlocks confirming on Friday that 97 % of the nation’s connectivity was down. Barring a handful of small each day updates gleaned from state media or native sources, Iranians have little concept concerning the extent of the Israeli army strikes throughout the nation.

The Iranian authorities started imposing web restrictions from the primary day of the Israeli strikes, however elevated them as Israel expanded its offensive and a pro-Israeli hacking group additionally launched cyberattacks.

A number of of the nation’s prime banks have been taken offline because of the cyberattacks, in addition to Iran’s prime cryptocurrency alternate, Nobitex, which mentioned its “sizzling pockets” had been compromised however promised it will return any misplaced cash.

Iranian officers, who additionally took the nation offline through the lethal nationwide protests in November 2019 , claimed disconnecting the web was essential to fend off Israeli quadcopters and different projectiles, however gave no timeline as to once they would restore full connectivity.

Iran already has some of the closed-off and slowed-down web connections on the planet, as virtually all main international messaging apps and different providers, together with tens of 1000's of internet sites, are blocked and solely accessible by means of workarounds resembling digital non-public networks (VPNs).