Tammy Duckworth: Dispatch from Tehran — Nowhere feels safe from attack

Tammy Duckworth — Tehran is covered in smoke and nights have become terrifying, with military bases and police stations across the city being struck and residential areas suffering damage.

Tamil Duckworth: A city where police stations sit beside homes

Military bases and police stations are being struck across Tehran, and many of those police stations sit close to residential neighborhoods. One police station in Niloofar Square was "reduced to powder, " and the residential buildings surrounding it were damaged, a scene a witness described as looking "like something out of doomsday. "

Nileofar Square, traffic jams and a 97-year-old mother

A relative was stuck in traffic for eight hours trying to reach an area just over 10 miles outside Tehran to see her 97-year-old mother, who is ill. The gridlock left people unable to reach family members and underscored how attacks and their fallout are affecting daily movements around the city.

Friendships strained by blasts in Sepah Square, Gisha and Tajrish

One friend who lives near Sepah Square in central Tehran said her house was shaking, so she left for her daughter’s home in the neighborhood of Gisha. The police station in Gisha was later hit, and that family ultimately decided to leave for the north near the Caspian Sea. Another close friend who lives near Saadabad Palace and Tajrish had her windows shattered by a bomb blast and was left in a state of panic.

Small moments of vulnerability: a 6-week-old puppy and crowded hospitals

Amid the destruction, small personal crises are multiplying: one friend who had just adopted a puppy said the dog is only 6 weeks old and had just been vaccinated, and now she cannot safely leave her home with the animal. At the same time, a hospital in northwest Tehran was filled with injured people, including ordinary civilians and members of the Basij, the voluntary militia that is a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

People remember the 12-day war last year and how life slowly adjusted to tension then, but many in Tehran say this feels different. Older generations told the dispatch they do not deserve this, invoking memories that stretch from the Iran-Iraq War through years of stalled negotiations.

Some families have already moved out of central neighborhoods; others are trying to reach sick relatives or shelter in place. With police stations struck in multiple districts and hospitals filling with wounded, several households have decided to head for the north near the Caspian Sea for safety.