‘The worst night so far’: Fear grips Tehran as US-Israeli bombs reduce neighbourhoods to rubble
Tehran was rocked by the worst night of bombing so far as the US and Israel escalated missile strikes on the capital overnight.
Israel said it had launched a “broad-scale wave of strikes” against the Islamic Republic in its ongoing effort to overthrow the regime, which it has openly declared as a key war aim.
Tehran came under intense bombardment on Friday morning with explosions heard across the city and plumes of smoke and fire lighting up the skies.
Hybrid drone and missile attacks against Israel were launched by Iran in response.
The US warned that attacks are to “surge dramatically” in the coming days as President Donald Trump said he would be personally involved in appointing a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated last week.
Residents of the Iranian capital described the sounds of powerful explosions, homes shaking and complete internet and power outages leaving them in darkness and uncertainty.
“The house was shaking for five minutes straight. Last night was the worst night,” a man in his 30s told the BBC.
He said he could barely sleep last night because of the “constant explosions.”
Another added: “I woke up to the sound of explosions at 5am and haven’t been able to sleep ever since. It was terrible. They were hitting so hard that all the windows were shaking. It sounded as if a dragon was making noises.”
At least 1,332 people have been killed in Iran since attacks were launched against the country last week. It includes reports that more than 160 people, mostly children, were killed at an elementary school in Minab.
The UN Human Rights Office has called for a full investigation into the attack. US secretary of war Pete Hegseth said the US was investigating the incident.
The conflict has spilled over into surrounding regions with Iranian retaliatory strikes hitting several Gulf countries and Israeli attacks on Lebanon killing at least 50 people so far.
At least 100,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon as the UN Refugee Agency declared a “major humanitarian emergency.” Residents fled Beirut as Israel continued to pound the country in what it says are attacks against Hezbollah.
“We’re sleeping here in the streets – some in cars, some on the street, some on the beach,” said Jamal Seifeddin, 43, who fled Beirut’s southern suburbs and spent the night on the streets in the capital’s downtown district in an interview with Reuters.
