Tehran IVF clinic devastated by US-Israeli attack as hospitals and homes hit
Tehran IVF clinic devastated by US-Israeli attack as hospitals and homes hit
Mohsen and Firouzeh have spent years attempting to conceive and recently relied on an IVF clinic at Tehran’s Ghandi hospital. The couple’s journey to parenthood was filled with hope, especially after a decade of effort.
“The hospital staff worked so hard to help us,” Mohsen says. “After 10 years of trying, we finally had hope.”
On Sunday, the second day of a US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran, a strike hit the prominent private hospital, leaving “very serious damage” to its fertility clinic. Mohammad Hassan Bani Asad, the head of Gandhi hospital, told local media that one staff member suffered severe injuries, including brain bleeding, and required surgery.
“Now, after hearing about the attack on the IVF section, we feel like we are losing our minds,” says Firouzeh. “We don’t know what happened. We don’t know if our samples are lost. We’re unsure if years of effort and hope have been erased.”
Like many Iranians interviewed by Middle East Eye, Mohsen and Firouzeh are known only by their first names due to security concerns. The US and Israel claim their strikes are aimed at Iran’s leadership, military, and nuclear facilities. Several senior officials have already been killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Yet, the human toll is undeniable. In the same attack, a primary school in Tehran saw around 150 girls aged seven to twelve killed. Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, also sustained damage. The Red Crescent Society reported at least 787 deaths from attacks targeting over 150 cities nationwide.
Negin, who lives in Tehran’s Shariati neighborhood, witnessed an air strike destroy a nearby Army hospital. “I saw things I would never have believed if I hadn’t seen them myself,” she tells Middle East Eye. She fled the area but believes dozens perished in the blast.
“Two streets above our home are the Joint Staff headquarters of the army and the Revolutionary Court. They hit that area,” she says. “But many residential homes on the same street were completely destroyed.”
Iran’s Medical Council head, Mohammad Raiszadeh, noted that at least 10 medical centers have been targeted. Speaking on Iranian television, he linked the strikes to Israel’s relentless attacks on hospitals during its conflict in Gaza. He doubted international bodies like the World Health Organization would act decisively.
“They showed during the Gaza tragedy that they cannot stop attacks on hospitals and medical centres,” Raiszadeh says.
The Israeli military later released a statement, stating the Gandhi hospital had only “minor and collateral damage.” However, staff describe a different reality. Salmaz, a nurse at the hospital, recounted the chaos of the blast.
“We were working as usual when we suddenly heard a loud blast,” she says. “The force of it threw me into the corner of my office. The building caught fire. Everyone was screaming and trying to escape.”
Amid the confusion, Salmaz and her colleagues focused on saving newborns in the ward. “In those terrible moments, we were just trying to save the babies,” she says. “I have never seen anything like this in my life. Only in movies.”
Salmaz remains in shock, with the blast’s sound still lingering in her ears. Residential buildings and offices in Tehran have also suffered. Mohammadali, 32, works at an advertising company on Motahari Street, where his office was destroyed by an air strike. A young colleague was critically injured, and their fate hangs in the balance.
“Israel keeps saying it only targets military sites,” Mohammadali says. “Our company creates advertising content for small businesses. What does that have to do with the government or the Revolutionary Guard? They destroyed our office, and one of our colleagues is now fighting for her life.”
Niloufar Square in Tehran is another area that was badly damaged in Sunday night’s strikes.