Iranians mourn loss of landmark sports stadium destroyed in US-Israeli March strikes

Iranians continue to mourn the destruction of Tehran's Azadi Sports Complex nearly a month after U.S.-Israeli strikes leveled the landmark on March 5, leaving a 12,000-seat stadium and adjoining facilities in ruins.

The attack wiped out the dormitory and new building of Iran's Cycling Federation, a main swimming pool, and parts of the Rowing Federation. Built for the 1974 Asian Games, the complex had for decades hosted football, wrestling, volleyball and basketball matches, becoming a fixture of national sporting life.

As of early April, the site still lies in rubble. Athletes and sports officials say the devastation has left a void in the country's collective memory.

"All of Iran's hearts ache over this incident. This was a place that everyone used. All the major basketball and volleyball games were held here, and we have so many memories," said Ashkan Jafari, a national basketball player.

"All my youthful memories are tied to this place. Seeing it like this truly broke my heart. Witnessing this destruction is unbearable, and it is an unforgivable war crime," said Bijan Taheri, former national football player and Coach.

Five days after the March 5 stadium attack, Tehran city council's cultural heritage committee reported that Iran's wider cultural fabric had also suffered.

Ahmad Alavi, head of the committee, said at least 120 museums, historical buildings, and cultural sites across the country were directly struck, sustaining varying degrees of damage.

One month on, the ruins stand as a visible reminder of the scale of loss and the enduring emotional impact. For residents and athletes, the destruction of Azadi is not just about bricks and mortar, but about the erasure of a venue tied to generations of national pride, alongside damage to cultural institutions that form part of Iran's identity.

Iranians mourn loss of landmark sports stadium destroyed in US-Israeli March strikes

Iranians mourn loss of landmark sports stadium destroyed in US-Israeli March strikes

Iranians mourn loss of landmark sports stadium destroyed in US-Israeli March strikes

Iranians mourn loss of landmark sports stadium destroyed in US-Israeli March strikes

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship