Hamed Mirzaei

“I was an only child, and I always thought that, although I had no brothers or sisters, I had a large family with whom I would grow old. All my life, the members of our extended family had lived together, side by side. Now all those people, and all the love that flowed through our family, have vanished.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei reflects on being an only child who lost his large extended family in the attack.

“The building where I was born, the building where my father was born, the building where I had hoped my child would be born, all of it was destroyed in a fraction of a second. My home and my family were wiped out together. And when I miss them, I truly don’t know where to turn or what to look at.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes the destruction of the building where multiple generations of his family were born.

“March 9 was a Monday. At about 1:00 in the afternoon, I left home to check in at work. At 2:30 pm, my wife messaged me, asking me to buy her some headache medicine on my way back. I called her to ask which medicine she wanted, but her phone was busy. We were expecting guests at home, so I called our guest’s phone. That line was busy, too. I hung up, intending to call my wife again.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei recounts his movements on the day of the attack, March 9, 2026.

“Seven months have passed since the day they destroyed our home, and every day, when I wake up, I come here to look at the ruins. I cannot bring myself to leave this place. I feel as though my life is buried here, and I return every day, hoping I might find some piece of it. But there is nothing left.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Seven months after the attack, Mirzaei returns daily to the ruins of his home, feeling his life is buried there.

“I thought that if they kept searching, perhaps they would find my family alive somewhere beneath the debris, too. But they didn’t. No one was found that hour. Nor in the hours that followed. By nightfall, no one else had been found in the building. Twelve members of my family were missing, and I still couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei waited for rescuers to find his family beneath the debris, but no one was found.

“In those same minutes, five more missiles struck our home.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei states that five more missiles struck his home in the same minutes.

“Every day, I ask myself: ‘Why do I keep going?’ I have no answer.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei says he has no answer when he asks himself why he keeps going.

“When someone asks me what I am thinking or how I feel, I cannot answer. Everything I have ever done in my life was for the happiness of my family. Now I no longer have a family for whom I can do anything.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei says he no longer has a family for whom he can do anything.

“My grandfather and my father’s uncle built the house that was hit. They divided its apartments among their children. A year ago, when I got married, my wife and I moved into one of the apartments in the same building. We were just beginning to prepare for a child. We were young, with our whole lives ahead of us. Then the bombing happened.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes his family history in the building and his life there with his wife before the bombing.

“Seven months have passed since the bombing. Even now, on many days, when I come to my senses, I find myself back at my destroyed home, searching for my loved ones.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Hamed Mirzaei lost 12 family members in a US-Israeli bombing of his Tehran home on March 9, 2026.

“The ground shook beneath my feet from the force of the explosion. With my phone still in my hand, I called my wife again, but her phone was unreachable. I began calling my family members, my grandfather, my father, my mother. All their phones were unreachable.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei recounts trying to reach his family by phone after the explosion but finding all numbers unreachable.

“The difference between me and my family, who were killed, is that they were buried beneath the rubble, while I am still walking around. Other than that, I am just as dead as they are. The only difference is that my name is not included among the dead.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei says the only difference between him and his killed family is that he is still walking around.

“My wife was killed. My sister-in-law, who had been a guest in our home, was killed. My father and mother, my grandfather and grandmother, my aunt’s husband and her daughter, my uncle, my father’s cousin, his wife and their child were all killed. Twelve members of my family died in the attack, and people ask me how I am.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei lists the 12 family members killed in the attack.

“I miss them. I miss them more with every passing day. At first, I thought that perhaps, with time, our grief would ease and we would find some peace. But we haven’t. As each day passes, I feel worse.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes his grief worsening with each passing day since losing his family.

“When I arrived, I saw that everyone in the neighbourhood had come out of their homes, but I still couldn’t bring myself to step into the street. It never even crossed my mind that those missiles could have hit our house. But they had. Even from a distance, it was clear that all that remained of the house was its skeleton.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes arriving at the scene and seeing that only the skeleton of the house remained.

“I am the only one left. There is no one else from my family. I am utterly alone.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei says he is the only surviving member of his family.

“When I reached it, everything was burning. All I could think about was getting to the second floor and finding my wife, but the staircase was gone. Several neighbours from the first floor were trapped beneath the rubble. The Red Crescent helped rescue them.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei recounts finding everything burning and neighbours being rescued by the Red Crescent.

“That night, the next day, the day after that, and every day following the attack, I returned to my home. For 20 days, I searched through the rubble and the remnants of the missiles and explosions for my loved ones. There was nothing left.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei searched through the rubble for 20 days after the attack but found nothing left of his family.

“Even so, I thought our home had not been hit. I kept telling myself it was impossible that they had struck our house. I thought perhaps a missile had hit somewhere else in our neighbourhood. In those moments, all I wanted was to get home and see that the house was still standing.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes hoping his house had not been struck as he rushed home.

“I was five minutes from home when I suddenly heard a whistling sound. The first missile had just struck.”

Hamed Mirzaei · said 2026-03-09 · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei describes hearing the first missile strike as he was near his home.

“I am living proof for anyone who still believes that war can lead to a good outcome. Anyone who thinks war is good should look at what has happened to me and ask themselves: ‘What, in any of this, is good?’”

Hamed Mirzaei · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-30

Mirzaei says his experience is proof that war cannot lead to a good outcome.