‘My life is buried here’: Iranian man whose 12 family members were killed

What the report says

Al Jazeera published a first-person account by Hamed Mirzaei, an Iranian man who says 12 members of his family were killed when a residential building in Tehran was struck in a US-Israeli attack on March 9, 2026. The piece was published on October 30, 2026, and describes how the bombing destroyed the home where his family had lived for generations.

Mirzaei says his wife, Mohadeseh, was among those killed, along with his parents, grandparents, an aunt’s husband and daughter, an uncle, and other relatives. He recounts that he had left for work shortly before the strike, then tried unsuccessfully to reach family members as missiles hit the building. He later returned to the site, where neighbors and rescue workers searched the rubble.

The article frames the destruction as both a personal and broader human tragedy, with Mirzaei describing the lasting grief and isolation that followed. He says he returned to the ruins for weeks after the attack and still visits the site months later because it is where he feels his life and family were buried.

Beyond the personal testimony, the report fits into continuing reporting on regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States. Al Jazeera presents Mirzaei’s account as an example of the civilian toll of such attacks and the way families can be displaced or erased in a single strike.