The Pilates instructor
On Saturday morning, Tehran reeked of dust and smoke. Israeli missiles had landed on homes that were filled with laughter just hours before. One of the silenced voices belonged to Niloufar Ghalehvand, whose friend Ghazal* recalled the last time she saw her at a cafe sipping coffee, just one night before the bombs fell.
Ghalehvand, a 32-year-old Pilates instructor, was killed along with her father, Kamran Ghalehvand, and her mother, Fatemeh Sedighi, in their home on Ozgol Street in northern Tehran.
“We were at the cafe, having coffee, and she said, ‘Iran is so beautiful. I just wish we could live in peace, like people in other countries,'” Ghazal told Al Jazeera. “I still can’t believe she’s gone. We were making plans to celebrate her 32nd birthday on June 28. She was so full of hope.”

Ghazal said Ghalehvand lived near the residence of Iran’s highest-ranking military commander, General Mohammad Bagheri, the target of the strike.
“They were ordinary people,” Ghazal said of Ghalehvand’s family. “They didn’t engage in political activity.”
Ghalehvand dreamed of becoming a famous Pilates instructor.
“The last time we met, she asked me to help her launch an Instagram page to post her workout videos. She never imagined she would become famous for her death.”
Ghalehvand had been a professional instructor for eight years, but Ghazal said her income was never enough. She worked on commission at local gyms and was always seeking more private clients.