Harrowing messages leak from inside Iran to reveal how cowardly new leaders are using citizens as human shields... as chilling videos show REAL situation on the ground
Desperate Iranian leaders are using their own citizens as human shields, people inside the country have told the Daily Mail, with leaked footage showing a strike in a residential area.
A Tehran family has described how they narrowly escaped death when an Israeli airstrike killed Ali Larijani, one of Iran's most senior security officials, on Tuesday night.
Larijani, who was seen mocking Donald Trump on the streets of Tehran just days before his death, was eliminated in a precision strike that blew out the balcony doors of the adjacent family apartment, reducing them to a skeleton of metal and glass.
'Last night, Larijani was hiding in a building right next to them,' the family's son told the Daily Mail in a series of frantic messages. 'All my family members were his human shield. He was hiding among the people.'
The killing comes just days after Larijani appeared defiantly alongside regime officials at the annual Quds Day march. Much of the Pardis district neighborhood where he sought refuge now lies in ruins.
The Islamic Republic has plunged into a total internet blackout as the war grinds into its third week, leaving terrified relatives unable to reach their loved ones and ordinary Iranians guessing which regime commander might be sheltering next door.
Despite the blackout, a chilling video has emerged showing a massive, dark plume of smoke billowing behind residential blocks.
'From my friend in Tehran: Last night at three in the morning, we woke up with a lot of noise and tremors and saw that they hit Saadabad Revolutionary Guards barracks and this is the video,' a source told the Daily Mail.
A harrowing photograph sent to the Daily Mail shows the aftermath of a nearby strike on a Pardis apartment: balcony doors blown out, reduced to a jagged skeleton of metal and glass
A chilling video has emerged showing a massive, dark plume of smoke billowing behind residential blocks
The strikes are hitting the heart of the IRGC power structure, but for the civilians caught in the crossfire, the psychological toll is reaching breaking point.
Families are now abandoning their bedrooms, reportedly sleeping in hallways to avoid being shredded by flying glass.
Another source told us: 'I got an update from my family. Apparently, there were lots of explosions and it was massive in Tehran... the real struggle is that when there's no Internet, there's no satellite and with all the explosions, they cannot sleep, they cannot do anything.'
Communication with the outside world has been reduced to desperate, two-minute windows before lines are cut. For some, even those minutes are filled with silence.
One woman said her mother can no longer even hear her voice over the phone.
'This is where all my family members are residing,' the son of the family explained in a series of frantic messages. 'Last night Larijani was hiding in a building right next to them. All my family members were his human shield. He was hiding among the people'
'From my friend in Tehran: Last night at three in the morning, we woke up with a lot of noise and tremors and saw that they hit Saadabad Revolutionary Guards barracks and this is the video,' a source confirmed
Communication with the outside world has been reduced to desperate, two–minute windows before lines are cut. For some, even those minutes are filled with silence
'[My mother] can't hear anything. Her ears are already messed up from the previous wars and explosions,' she explained.
Another Iranian managed a brief connection with their family: 'Mom called me for a brief two minute call... she also said there are a lot places around her house that [were] bombed but they all are government facilities not residential.'
The facade of the Iranian military is reportedly fracturing on the ground.
Reports of 'patrolling military' units on the streets of Tehran suggest a force gripped by paranoia.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani participates in the traditional Quds Day rally in the capital Tehran, on Friday on March 13 before he was killed
![Another managed a brief connection with their family: 'Mom called me for a brief two minute call... she also said there are a lot places around her house that [were] bombed but they all are government facilities not residential'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/03/18/20/107241927-15657807-Another_managed_a_brief_connection_with_their_family_Mom_called_-a-8_1773867478331.jpg)
Another managed a brief connection with their family: 'Mom called me for a brief two minute call... she also said there are a lot places around her house that [were] bombed but they all are government facilities not residential'
Messages with Iranians detailing quick desperate phone calls with family members
One witness described a confrontation after their car was stopped by a patrol: 'After keeping the car, we started shouting that you stopped us and you made us a human shield. Then one with a gun came and told the other to go to the parking lot and confiscated the driver's property. Put the handcuffs on, then we started shouting again'
Families are now abandoning their bedrooms, reportedly sleeping in hallways to avoid being shredded by flying glass
One witness described a confrontation after their car was stopped by a patrol.
They got into an argument and the soldier told them: 'We know you don't like us nor the leader, but I myself haven't been home for several days.'
The witness concluded that there is a split within the military ranks under the extreme stress, with some soldiers becoming aggressive and erratic, while others seem downtrodden and defeated.
The people of Tehran remain in the dark as the smoke clears over the Saadabad barracks, waiting for the next blast and hoping that this time the 'job' finally gets finished.
