'I just hope for a miracle,' Tehran resident tells MEE after parents home bombed

Hossein, who lives in eastern Tehran, says his parents’ home was completely destroyed by Israeli strikes on Saturday.

Struggling to hold back tears, he tells MEE: “The last time I spoke to my parents was last night. I had asked them many times to leave Tehran. I told them that since they are retired, they should at least go to the north for now.

“But they refused. They said this is not a life - leaving our home every couple of days.”

Hossein does not live with his parents. He says that when he read the news this morning and heard the explosions, he tried calling them. He called again and again, but no one answered.

He does not know what has happened to them. “I just hope for a miracle,” he says.

At that point, he breaks down in tears and cannot continue speaking. His parents live in the Narmak neighbourhood of Tehran - the same neighborhood that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president, has been known to reside.

Narmak has been targeted by strikes since early this morning.