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Airwars Assessment
On the evening of Monday, June 16, 2025, at least two Red Crescent (IRCS) paramedics, including Amir Hossein Jamshidpour and 52-year-old Mojtaba Maleki, were killed and at least two paramedics were injured as a result of an alleged Israeli “double-tap” drone strike hitting a rescue vehicle en route to help to transport those wounded in a previous strike on the Chitgar neighbourhood in west Tehran.
The death of two aid workers was initially announced by the Red Crescent to the media outlet IRNA: The Islamic Republic News Agency. Ambulance driver Mojtaba Maleki was killed, while his colleague and friend, Hossein Nikbakht, who had followed behind in a second rescue vehicle, was injured. Nikbakht later provided comments to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) about the events of that day. Nikbakht had joined the Red Crescent Society in 2008. A level 3 Rescuer, Nikhbakht had worked daily shifts on the Tehran North Freeway and had previously responded to the 2022 floods in the village of Imamzadeh Davood, 20 kilometers north of Tehran.
However, according to a later comment by Mojtaba Khalidi, spokesman of the Red Crescent Society, three aid workers (paramedics) were killed in the attack. The name of the third victim is unknown but this will be updated, should new information come to light.
According to the local sources, a rescue crew from the Iranian Red Crescent Society was dispatched to the West Tehran area to assist in rescue and relief operations, following an airstrike on a military centre which occurred earlier in the day. An ambulance followed behind, accompanied by a rescue vehicle. Emergency workers were in action, assessing the scene when another explosion occurred, followed by another, in what is called a double-tap strike.
According to Nikbakht’s comments to ISNA, the emergency workers had met on Monday morning at their base, where they had posed for a group selfie, now circulating through the media. The picture shows a group of Red Crescent workers, dressed in red and white, smiling and looking towards the camera. It was the first time these emergency workers were responding to the aftermath of warfare, working in rubble caused by weapons explosions, rather than earthquakes or natural disasters for which they were trained.
Emergency worker Behnam Hazrati Fard had gone to assess the area when a drone appeared, apparently conducting intelligence activities. Then the first explosion occurred, knocking everybody to the ground. After the second explosion, Behnam appeared to be covered in blood, but Mojtaba could not be located. His body and the body of another emergency worker, Amir Hossein Jamshidpour, were later recovered from the scene. According to Hossein Nikbakht, “Mojtaba had been hit in the head and chest.”
Hossein added that the rescuers were all wearing special and distinctive clothes and that the ambulance had very specific markings, and he was sure that the drone that first identified us realized that we were rescuers, and our vehicle was also clearly marked as an ambulance, but they “still attacked us and martyred our colleagues in violation of all international laws.”
Pictures of a burned-out station emergency wagon, which appears to be white-coloured despite the damage, were posted on social media. The car tyres were destroyed, leaving the vehicle sitting only on the wheel rims; the car windows are all smashed out. The Red Crescent logo with the crest appears on the driver’s side door panel and is clearly still visible despite the damage to the vehicle. Images were circulated in the Iranian media of the vehicle being removed from the scene, adorned with flowers and Red Crescent flags.
The Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic has released a testimonial to Mojtaba Maleki on its website, commenting on his commitment to service and altruism. There is a photo featuring Mojtada wearing a red and white zipped Red Crescent sweatshirt; he seems like a younger man, with slicked back dark hair, a neatly kept beard and a moustache, and a neutral expression looking towards the camera. The emergency service workers were volunteers.
According to his wife, who spoke to the Red Crescent Society, Mojtada, who was born on February 17, 1973, had decided to take paramedic courses as a teenager, after a pivotal moment in his life when he was standing in line at the bakery to buy bread, and the man in front of him had a cardiac arrest. As no one had knowledge of first aid or resuscitation procedures, the old man died, leading Mojtada to want to pursue courses in emergency treatment. This was a man who was attracted to helping and assisting others. He took the highest degree of training with the Red Crescent, learning how to respond to disaster situations.
Mojtada’s father highly praised the personal qualities of his deceased son: “He had the distinctive qualities of the blessed name of the second Imam of the Shiites. From patience and tolerance to exemplary dignity and peace. It didn’t matter what the crisis was. From a family challenge to relief and rescue operations, Mojtaba had a personality that always tried to resolve issues calmly and logically, and everyone was ultimately satisfied.” He added that Mojtada had a degree in electronics and was active in mobile phone repairs and installing CCTV cameras, but his main job was relief and rescue in the Red Crescent.
Where sources identified the belligerent, all sources attributed the strike to the Israeli military.
Referring to the strike in which Amir Hossein and Mojtaba were killed, and Hossein and Behnam were injured, some sources also named Yaser Zivari and Mehdi Zartaji and shared pictures of the men. Yaser and Mehdi were also paramedics who were killed, but in incidents ISIR250614d and ISIR250613t, respectively.
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Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the Chitgar neighbourhood (چیتگر) in Tehran (تهران). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for location name are: 35.718235, 51.181899.