Inside Tehran. The sounds of explosions and the cries of despair have become a grim routine. A mother stands by the remains of her daughter’s flat in the Resalat neighborhood, pleading with rescue workers to dig her daughter out. ‘They don’t have the manpower to get her out,’ she says, her voice breaking. ‘My daughter is under the rubble… she’s afraid of the dark.’

Impact on Civilian Lives

The conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel has left civilians caught in the crossfire. For over a month, attacks have targeted state-linked sites, but the collateral damage has been severe. In Resalat, a residential district in eastern Tehran, an Israeli air strike on 9 March destroyed a multi-storey apartment building, killing dozens and leaving families homeless.

Dozens of families had lived in the building before it was hit. The woman trapped in the rubble had been living there with her husband and young daughter. Days after the strike, she and her daughter were found dead under the rubble. The husband survived, but everything else was lost. ‘I don’t have anything now… All my documents, everything, it’s gone,’ said a 55-year-old man whose apartment was also destroyed in the same strike.

Local authorities and residents estimate that between 40 and 50 people were killed in this single attack. Those made homeless are now staying at a nearby hotel. ‘This was our life,’ the man added, his voice heavy with grief.

Military Strikes and Civilian Casualties

The Israel Defense Forces stated that they targeted a military building used by the Iranian Basij, a paramilitary force linked to the Major Guards. However, analysis of the aftermath suggests the impact extended far beyond that single site. Satellite imagery shows at least four buildings destroyed in quick succession, with surrounding structures appearing to be residential.

Residents describe multiple explosions within seconds of each other. ‘They hit three times,’ one survivor said. ‘Maybe three or five seconds between them… I tried to stand up, but the rubble came down on my head.’

Military experts told BBC Eye that the Israeli air force is likely using large bombs from the Mark 80 series, which are often fitted with precision guidance systems. The scale of the damage observed in Resalat is consistent with the use of the Mark 84, the largest of the series, weighing 2,000lb. Unexploded bombs matching these types have been photographed in the city.

The UN has previously urged countries and armed groups at war to avoid using powerful bombs in highly populated areas because of the danger to civilian lives. BBC Eye has spoken to two international humanitarian law experts, who believe that the use of such a heavy bomb in a densely populated area would be disproportionate, considering the potential harm to civilians, and possibly unlawful.

Patterns of Strikes and Civilian Impact

Resalat is not an isolated case. Since the start of the conflict, the Israel Defense Forces said it had dropped more than 12,000 bombs across Iran and 3,600 bombs on Tehran alone. US Central Command says it has struck more than 9,000 targets across Iran. Many of these strikes have targeted police stations, Basij militia buildings, police headquarters, military and police universities, safe houses, Islamic Major Guard Corps (IRGC) homes, as well as potential ammunition stores and checkpoints.

Often, these targets are located within busy civilian neighborhoods. On 1 March, an Israeli strike hit the Abbasabad police station near Niloufar Square, where families had gathered after breaking their Ramadan fast. Eyewitnesses describe seeing at least 20 people killed, though the BBC has not verified this number. Witnesses described a ‘terrifying light’ followed by multiple explosions.

‘We ran into the street,’ one man said. ‘A man and a woman had just come out of a shop… they were hit immediately.’ Residents reported multiple strikes in quick succession on the same target. ‘It wasn’t even two minutes,’ another witness said. ‘When we came back, they hit again.’

The IDF confirmed it was responsible for the attack, saying it ‘struck a military target.’ BBC Eye analysis of the blast zone suggests, as in Resalat, that the damage extended well beyond the named target. Under international humanitarian law, all parties to a conflict must distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives. The expected harm to civilians or civilian buildings must be proportionate to the expected military advantage gained from that particular action.

Residents told BBC Eye that strikes hitting residential areas risk deepening resentment, even among those who had previously been critical of the Iranian regime. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says that 1,464 civilians, including at least 217 children, have been killed in Iran in the first month of the conflict.

In Tehran, residents criticized the Iranian authorities for their response to the war. They told the BBC there had been little visible provision of basic safety measures, including public shelters, evacuation support, or temporary accommodation for those displaced. Several people we spoke to said they had received no guidance on where to go or how to protect themselves during attacks.

‘There are no sirens, no warnings,’ one resident said. ‘You just hear the explosion.’ In the absence of clear communication, and amid an ongoing internet blackout, many described feeling exposed and uncertain, unsure when or where the next strike might hit.

The Iranian government has not publicly detailed any nationwide civil defence protocols in response to the attacks. The United States and Israel say they are targeting the infrastructure of the Iranian state. But in a city where that infrastructure sits side-by-side with homes, shops, and schools, the consequences are being felt far beyond the named targets.

For those living through it, that pressure is measured in homes lost, families shattered, and a growing sense that nowhere is truly safe.