A psychiatric hospital in southeastern Tehran was crippled on March 29 after shockwaves from a U.S.-Israeli strike leveled a factory just across the street, ripping through its wards and shutting down vital care.
One week after the strike, Delaram Sina Psychiatric Hospital remains visibly scarred, with blast marks streaking the reception hall floor, the ceiling shattered, and offices littered with missile fragments.
The scale of damage means the hospital will be out of service for months, depriving patients of specialized psychiatric care and leaving staff in limbo as reconstruction drags on.
"The hospital was completely evacuated and there is no possibility of any activity. Rebuilding the hospital will take at least a month to activate two departments and at least five to six months for the entire hospital to fully reopen," said Mohammad Asgari, clinic director.
At the time of the incident, a total of 30 patients were inside the hospital. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and all patients were safely transferred to another facility.
"The patients who were here went into shock due to the sound and wave of the explosion, and their symptoms could have been exacerbated if they were cut off. Even though the treatment team here is made up of professional psychiatrists and psychologists who have taken specialized courses, they themselves went into shock," Asgari said.
This was not the first hospital in Tehran to be hit. On March 1, Gandhi Hospital in the city’s north suffered extensive damage in a U.S.-Israeli strike and was temporarily put out of service. Since then, Iranian medical workers have rallied outside the facility, denouncing repeated strikes on hospitals and warning of the mounting toll on the country’s health system.
Iran psychiatric hospital crippled by airstrike, faces months-long closure
Iran psychiatric hospital crippled by airstrike, faces months-long closure
