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Iranians recount horrors of suspected US missile attack on first day of war

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…

By Samantha Johnson / September 7, 2026

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.

Mohammad Reza Barfar, who suffered severe lacerations to his left leg. Photo: Kyodo
Mohammad Reza Barfar, who suffered severe lacerations to his left leg. Photo: Kyodo

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