10 hours ago
Iran's medics fear 'another Gaza' as Israeli strikes overwhelm hospitals
Even as thousands of Iranians attempt to flee the capital Tehran in the wake of Israel's bombardment, many of those working in essential services have been forced to remain.
Healthcare workers, working in a sector already battered by years of US sanctions, face a particular struggle to cope with the hundreds being killed and wounded on a daily basis.
Golnaz, a 34-year-old woman living in Tehran with her husband Keyvan, dreads the sound of explosions getting closer and closer.
"There's barely an hour without an explosion nearby. Every time, I look at my husband and ask, 'do you think we'll survive this?'" she told Middle East Eye.
Golnaz and Keyvan have no choice but to stay - Keyvan, 39, is a nurse and has to show up for work every day.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
'There's every kind of injury,' he said. 'Children, teenagers, adults, elderly… and the number just keeps rising every day.'
He said the casualties so far have been 90 percent civilian.
"The hospital is in a state of chaos," he said.
"We're not short on staff yet, and we still have medical supplies and equipment, but there's a growing sense of psychological distress among both the medical team and the people. Everyone is anxious about what might happen next."
Imitating Gaza?
While Israel has claimed to be only targeting military sites, people in Tehran tell a different story.
Afshin lost both his wife and young child in the strikes, which have so far killed at least 585 people according to rights groups.
"When I left home that morning, I had no idea it would be the last time I'd see them. I was at work when I saw the news - Sohrevardi Street in central Tehran had been bombed," he said.
"I immediately tried calling my wife, but no one answered. I rushed home as fast as I could, only to find that our apartment was now just a pile of rubble."
Smoke plumes billow following an overnight Israeli strike on Tehran on 17 June 2025 (Atta Kenare / AFP)
In 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally out of the nuclear deal signed by his predecessor Barack Obama and reimposed sanctions on Iran under the principle of "maximum pressure" against the Islamic Republic.
Although there were ostensible exemption for humanitarian goods, rights groups said the sanctions heavily restricted Iran's ability to finance payment for essential medical goods.
Last year the Iranian parliament's health committee said Iran faced shortages in as many as 300 medicines.
Treatments for cancer, immunodeficiency disorders, multiple sclerosis, haemophilia and mental illnesses were among those hardest hit.
'Israel has shown time and again that it's willing to commit any crime, but then wraps it in a polished narrative to manipulate public opinion'
- Keyvan, nurse in Tehran
Though part of the blame has been levelled at the government over allegations of corruption and mismanagement, the ongoing pressure by the sanctions regime has played a major role.
A total of $6bn in Iranian assets earmarked for humanitarian use - unfrozen and transferred to Qatar after a prisoner swap in 2023 - have been held up over Iran's alleged support for Hamas in Israel's war on Gaza.
Keyvan said he feared Israel would repeat across Iran the kind of attacks that had been inflicted in Gaza, which have obliterated the enclave's healthcare system.
He pointed to an attack on Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah on Monday.
"Israel has shown time and again that it's willing to commit any crime, but then wraps it in a polished narrative to manipulate public opinion," he said.
"What we witnessed in Gaza - the suffering of doctors and nurses - was a tragedy for all of us. We are colleagues across the world."
Tehran exodus
The Israeli military has been posting warnings on social media, advising residents of certain neighbourhoods to evacuate within hours or risk losing their lives, echoing similar actions in Lebanon and Gaza.
But with war-time conditions and unstable internet access, many Tehran residents are unable to even see these warnings.
'I call on doctors and nurses everywhere to put themselves in our shoes and speak out'
- Keyvan, nurse
Meanwhile, the rush to leave has caused massive gridlock on highways heading out of the city in every direction.
Mahsa and her husband Mehdi were initially hesitant to leave but finally decided on Tuesday to drive to Pardis, a small town near Tehran.
'My parents live there,' she said.
'So we decided to go stay with them. But it took us six hours to drive just 48 kilometers. The traffic was so horrible we honestly wanted to park the car on the highway and just sleep there.'
Some Iranians critical of the Islamic Republic had hoped that Israel's strikes would only target government leaders.
But many now feel abandoned and betrayed.
"Netanyahu kept saying in speeches and interviews that they had nothing against the people of Iran, that they just wanted to go after regime officials,' said 31-year old Ali.
Israeli attacks reawaken Gulf war trauma as Iranians attempt to flee Tehran Read More »
'I believed that - many of us did. But what I see now are residential buildings, offices, and hospitals being hit. I feel like we were lied to. He wants to turn us into another Beirut, another Gaza.'
Iranians don't know how long the war will last.
But many of them are just as angry at their own government as they are at Israel - for failing to protect them.
A country that hasn't seen full-scale war in decades is now burning, and no one knows how far this fire will spread.
As Keyvan and his wife settle down in Tehran for the long haul, he called for the world not to lose sight of medical workers like himself.
"I call on doctors and nurses everywhere to put themselves in our shoes and speak out, so Israel cannot bring the same disaster it brought upon Gaza's medical staff to us here in Iran," he said.
