Some residents say they’re witness to increasing numbers of strikes on residential buildings
As the war
on Iran enters its second month, reports from state media and residents in the
Islamic Republic indicate mounting attacks on civilian infrastructure including
homes, factories and electricity facilities.
Iran’s Red
Crescent Society, part of the international humanitarian network, said on
March 30 that US-Israeli airstrikes had damaged or destroyed more than 90,000
homes, about half of them in Tehran.
Some
residents say they’re witness to increasing numbers of strikes on
residential buildings. They include those on the capital’s north, a more
affluent area where more secular Iranians live alongside regime elites. The
pummeling of urban areas is also shifting the mood among some Iranians who
might have supported the action, two people said.
“It’s not
like they hit one block for one person, they hit three or five blocks expecting
that the person will be in one of them,” a woman in her mid-50s who lives
near the leafy Fereshteh neighborhood said in voice notes sent on WhatsApp. On
March 22, the strikes on her immediate surrounding area increased
significantly, she said. “That’s how it’s been recently.”
While Donald
Trump has signaled he’s preparing to end the conflict, the US and Israel
have pressed on with their bombardment of Iran and the American
president said on Wednesday he plans to hit the
country “extremely hard” in coming weeks. The Islamic Republic,
meanwhile, is firing missiles at Israel and Gulf states and is keeping the
Strait of Hormuz largely closed to marine traffic.
The US and
Israel say they are only hitting targets used for military purposes or by
security services. Neither the US military nor Israel Defense
Forces have published a list of what exactly what they’ve struck.
“The
IDF conducts precise operational planning and takes feasible precautions
in both the planning and execution of strikes in order to mitigate harm to
civilians and civilian infrastructure to the greatest extent possible,” the
forces said in a response to questions. A spokesperson for the US
military wasn’t immediately available for comment on specific
incidents.
U.S. President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes
speaking during a televised address on the conflict in the Middle East from the
Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC on April 1, 2026. Photo by
ALEX BRANDON /POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Away from
Tehran, Iranian state media reported that an airstrike on the town of
Mahallat in central Markazi province killed 11 civilians including two women
and three children. Earlier the same day, strikes on electrical facilities in
the provinces of Tehran and Alborz had caused temporary blackouts. Neither
report could be independently verified.
Missiles
also struck one of Iran’s biggest state-run pharmaceutical companies, Tofigh
Darou, destroying its production and research and development units, state
media said on Tuesday, blaming the strike on Israel. It’s a major producer of
anti-cancer drugs and anesthetic in Iran, according to the Social Security
Investment Co., whose subsidiary owns the company.
Assessing
the impact on Iran is difficult. Following a deadly crackdown on
protests in January, Iranians are facing continuing pressure through
arrests and judicial executions as the regime battles to keep its grip on
power after initial signs that some people supported the strikes.
State-imposed
restrictions on internet access and telephones mean that only state media and
accredited photographers are able to publish footage and photos.
Unverified social media clips of apparent damage and attacks
are also limited because of the government’s internet blackout.
The
residents contacted by Bloomberg used patchy virtual proxy networks to
communicate, often taking days at a time to respond. They asked not to be
identified by name because of fear of reprisals from the authorities, which
have deployed security forces to patrol streets and man check points.
“Opinions
are different and wide ranging but the thing that is very clear is that
everyone is exhausted by the war situation,” a 35-year-old woman
who lives in northern Tehran said by WhatsApp. “This is something that I
can say I’m hearing and seeing a lot.”
A
Tehran-based businessman said his own home was almost hit in an airstrike just
north of the Velenjak neighborhood. He also said he sensed a change in mood
among the people because of the extent and pace of the bombardment.
“Those who
were begging for the attacks to start are now regretting it big time, seeing
the devastation on civilian infrastructure and housing,” he said.
In Isfahan,
the ancient capital of Iran that’s prized for its historic center, social media
footage and a video released by state media showed extensive damage to the 17th
century Palace of Chehel Sotoun, which is close to the Isfahan provincial
governor’s office, another historic building, that was directly bombed.
UNESCO has expressed concern over the protection of heritage sites.
The province
of Isfahan is a major industrial hub, home of the steel sector as well
several important nuclear facilities, including a uranium enrichment site that
was bombed by Israel and the US in the 12-day war last year.
Travelers through stanchion lines at the departure terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on April 2, 2026. Photo by - /AFP via Getty Images
Last week,
Iranian state media said Israeli strikes caused significant damage to the
Mobarakeh Steel Co., one of the Middle East’s biggest flat steel producers, and
a major employer in the area. The US-Israel alliance also bombed a big steel
maker in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, the Tasnim news agency reported.
On Sunday
night, Trump posted a video on social media showing explosions engulfing an
area in fireballs and thick plumes of orange and black smoke. The Wall Street
Journal later reported, citing a US official, that it showed a 2,000-pound
so-called bunker buster hitting an ammunition depot in Isfahan. Iranian state
media hasn’t reported on the strike.
“They did
that the other night — the entire city was shaking, like an earthquake,” said a
businessman in Isfahan. “There’s no mercy or humanity in how they’re
targeting.”
In a
statement on March 8, US Central Command said it “takes every feasible
precaution to minimize harm to civilians but cannot guarantee civilian safety
in or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.”
Yet Trump
has often threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure. On March 30, Trump
threatened to conclude the war by “blowing up and completely obliterating” all
of Iran’s power stations, oil wells, the Kharg island oil terminal and
“possibly” all desalination plants if the country doesn’t open the Strait of
Hormuz.
Iranian
state media hasn’t been consistently updating the civilian death toll. The
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on March 29 that 1,574
civilians had been killed in airstrikes along with 1,211 military fatalities
and more than 700 “unclassified” deaths.
A woman weeps while talking on the phone near a residential building that was hit in an airstrike in the west of Tehran, Iran, on March 30, 2026. Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Trump has
said 13,000 military targets were struck, while the IDF said on Wednesday they
had carried out 10,000 airstrikes on 4,000 “terrorist targets” using 16,000
different munitions so far. Israel has killed 2,000 Iranian military personnel
and some 40 senior state officials, the statement added.
An IDF
illustration shows that attacks have been heavily concentrated in Iran’s
western and northwestern provinces, Tehran and the center of the country,
including Isfahan. Seven categories are used to define targets, including
“nuclear program” and military sites. A large number of strikes are categorized
as “regime targets” and “terror infrastructure” without being specific.
The capital
Tehran is a sprawling, densely populated metropolis that’s surrounded
by mountains. Offices and buildings that are used by the police and the Basij
paramilitary forces are scattered throughout the city.
Long delays
on satellite imaging imposed by US companies have also made it impossible to
assess damage in real time. Ten days into the war, San Francisco-based Planet
Labs PBC extended a four-day delay on commercial satellite imagery in the
Middle East to two weeks, citing security concerns over their use by
adversarial states.
The first
days of war, which started on Feb. 28, included some of the deadliest attacks
on civilians. A strike on a school in Minab in southern Iran killed 168
people including 100 children, according to Iranian state media. Reuters has
reported that US military investigators believed it was likely the US was
responsible for the attack. The US has said it’s investigating.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, an Israeli airstrike on the
Tehran suburb of Sa’adat Abad destroyed a residential building. One of the
residents had fled to a town on Tehran’s outskirts with his wife and daughter
during the second week of the war, returned in the aftermath to find his home
partially destroyed and uninhabitable.
He had tried
to retrieve documents and possessions before looters could get to them first,
something he had heard was now commonplace at attack sites. He said an elderly
lady who lived in an apartment on the building’s top floor had been killed
after the strike caused the entire roof to collapse.
The
businessman in Isfahan said one of his companies is surrounded by damage
from airstrikes. The bombing of industrial facilities strikes at the heart
of Iran’s economy as well as ordinary workers, he said.
Meanwhile,
Iranians are dealing with the bombardment in different ways. “People here are
going to bed on tranquilizers,” the businessman said. “Younger people seem to
be completely detached and trying to get on with their lives, going to cafés
while there’s a massive bomb crater 30 meters away.”
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/iranians-reel-from-u-s-israeli-attacks-on-civilian-infrastructure