Following massive coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes across Iran, videos circulating on opposition media show destroyed Iranian police and IRGC facilities, while citizens on the streets observe the Chaharshanbe Suri fire festival.
On March 17, following a massive wave of US and Israeli airstrikes that hit over 200 military sites across Iran under Operation Epic Wrath, footage of the resulting destruction began circulating heavily on Iranian opposition networks. Diaspora-based networks, which maintain a strong anti-Islamic Republic editorial stance and rely on crowdsourced citizen journalism, shared multiple videos detailing the aftermath of the bombardment in major cities.
Iran International reported extensively on the destruction of regime infrastructure in the capital. According to the network, footage shows the ruins of the Niavaran police station building in Tehran following the joint Israeli and American attacks. Furthermore, the network broadcast a video released by the Israeli Air Force which depicts how a Basij and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) checkpoint in Tehran was targeted.Visual evidence of strikes extended beyond structural damage to military vehicles and bases outside the capital. The popular opposition aggregator channel Vahid Online shared a video showing a special forces vehicle burning in Tehran's Enghelab Square following the Israeli airstrikes. Iran International corroborated this event with similar footage of the burning vehicle. Additionally, Iran International published a video showing smoke rising from an attack on a regime position in Isfahan.
Despite the widespread military escalation—which included massive domestic banking shutdowns and Iranian retaliatory strikes against Tel Aviv and US targets in the region—some Iranian citizens continued observing their cultural traditions amidst the fires. Iran International shared footage showing citizens gathering on Tuesday evening to light fires for the traditional Chaharshanbe Suri festival, collectively singing the patriotic anthem Ey Iran.
Both Iran International and Vahid Online are prominent Persian-language opposition media sources based outside of Iran. They focus heavily on anti-regime narratives and routinely amplify crowdsourced footage that highlights regime vulnerability and civil defiance.