Tehran – A devastating airstrike on a civilian residential building in northern Tehran on Sunday, carried out by Israeli forces, claimed the lives of three members of a family. 

The victims -- Saeid Mousavi, 65, his wife Fatemeh, and their 37-year-old daughter Ameneh, known as Hadiseh -- were inside their second-floor apartment in a three-story building on Mohebbi Street near Seyyed Khandan Bridge when the attack occurred at approximately 3:40 p.m. local time, a close relative Bita Mousavi, who is a cultural journalist, told Persian media on Monday. 

The blast brought down parts of the structure, trapping them beneath the rubble. According to eyewitnesses and local reports, the explosion left the bodies severely unrecognizable, requiring DNA testing for identification.

The couple had retired from a private company. Their only surviving family member, 31-year-old Mohammad, was at work at the time of the explosion. He rushed to the scene after a neighbor alerted him about an incident in their area. Unable to reach his parents or sister by phone, he arrived to find the building in ruins. Witnesses described him screaming in anguish as he recognized his sister’s lifeless body under the debris.

Mousavi, Mohammad’s aunt, arrived at the site after being contacted by her nephew. Initially blocked by emergency personnel due to safety concerns, her cries eventually moved authorities to let her approach the scene. She waited for hours in confusion and desperation until one of the responders confirmed that all three of her relatives had perished in the explosion.

Late Sunday night, Mousavi and other surviving family members traveled to the Kahrizak forensic medical center on the Tehran-Qom Highway, seeking information. With no immediate answers, they joined other grieving families at the center’s closed gates. Eventually, an employee confirmed that the bodies of Saeid, Fatemeh, and Ameneh had been brought to the facility.

By Monday morning, June 16, close relatives submitted DNA samples for identity verification, while remaining unaware of the fate of other residents in the same building. According to Mousavi, her niece Ameneh had survived a serious illness just last year, only to lose her life under the rubble in this tragic event.

The strike is one of the most significant incidents in Tehran and many other Iranian cities involving civilian casualties in recent memory, raising renewed concerns about the targeting of non-military places. 

AM