An Afghan woman and her three young children were found murdered in a southern district of Tehran, Iranian media reported on Sunday, in what police have described as a “gruesome” and puzzling case.
The incident occurred in the Morteza Gerd area, on the outskirts of the Iranian capital. The discovery came after a neighbor alerted police on Friday, saying she had not seen the family for several days and had noticed a foul odor coming from their apartment, raising fears that something was wrong.
Responding officers forced entry into the home and were met with a horrific scene: the bloodied body of a 25-year-old woman in the bedroom, and the bodies of her three children — aged two, three, and five — lying in the living room. According to preliminary forensic findings cited by local news outlets, the woman had been stabbed to death, while the children appeared to have been suffocated.
Iranian authorities said the woman had been living with her husband, who is reportedly 70 years old. Investigators believe the man had returned to Afghanistan shortly before the killings. It remains unclear whether he was deported by Iranian authorities or left voluntarily.
Police have launched an investigation into what they described as a “horrific crime,” but no suspects have yet been named. The motive also remains unknown.
The killings have drawn widespread shock and highlight growing concerns about the vulnerability of Afghan refugees in Iran, many of whom live in precarious legal and economic conditions. Iranian officials have not commented publicly on the victims’ immigration status or whether their deaths could be linked to broader issues affecting Afghan communities in the country.
