Zahra Karimi

Zahra Karimi was an elderly resident of southern Tehran who had lived in the same neighborhood for decades. Neighbors described her as friendly, well-known in the community, and someone who had witnessed many of Iran’s turbulent historical periods. She survived earlier national hardships, including the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, and continued to live quietly in her ground-floor apartment. On the morning of March 1, 2026, during a wave of airstrikes amid rising hostilities between Israel and Iran, a nearby target associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was reportedly struck. The resulting explosion caused severe structural damage to nearby buildings. Karimi’s apartment collapsed, trapping her under debris. Rescue workers later recovered her body. Her death drew widespread sympathy across Iranian social media and became symbolic of the growing civilian impact of the conflict.