BackIranian boy's life upended by US-led attack on Lamerd

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SCMP Economy59 minutes agoWorld1 min readChina

Iranian boy's life upended by US-led attack on Lamerd

Thirteen-year-old Mohammad Reza Barfar recounts the moment his life changed during strikes on Iran's Fars Province.

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Thirteen-year-old Mohammad Reza Barfar was severely injured and left dependent on a wheelchair after US-led attacks struck Lamerd, Iran, just hours after he scored a goal in a local football match.

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Why It Matters

A US-led attack on Iran began on February 28, resulting in explosions in Lamerd, Fars Province.

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Thirteen-year-old Mohammad Reza Barfar remembers the free kick more clearly than almost anything else on February 28 when the US-led attack on Iran began.

The football-loving schoolboy went to a local field after classes for a match between his village and another team. He scored from a free kick and his brother captured the goal on video.

Hours later, Mohammad Reza was lying wounded amid smoke and debris after a series of explosions struck Lamerd, an industrial city in Iran’s southern Fars Province.

“This was the last time I touched the ball,” Mohammad Reza told Kyodo News, as he showed the video of the goal.

Four pieces of metal struck his body, according to his family and medical treatment records, mangling the sole of his right foot and the heel of his left, and injuring his head and right arm. Damage to a bone in his left leg has left him dependent on a wheelchair.

After the match, Mohammad Reza went to his family’s flower shop and he was resting there when a powerful explosion shook the ground.

Open Questions

What specific targets were hit in Lamerd?
What is the total civilian casualty count from the strikes?

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