Head of Red Crescent Society Narrates Kolivand's Account of Moments After Explosion at Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi's Residence

One of the most difficult days of my life was when the explosion occurred at the residence of the martyred Leader. I was in my office when I heard the sounds; I looked out the window and saw that missiles had struck the western side of Tehran, and I thought I needed to get to that area; during the war days, I personally used to go to most incidents by motorcycle. I looked out the window and we saw that there had also been explosions at the Leader's residence, and I quickly got there at lightning speed. I may have been the first person to enter the Leader's residence from outside. I witnessed the most difficult conditions. We actually didn't think the Revolution's Leader was present there and we asked everyone; they said he wasn't present. Then everything became clear. It was a very difficult day. After that, I informed the teams (rescue workers) and brought equipment. What is interesting is that a place of this level of importance was actually very simple; there were very limited facilities there, and in all countries, places where officials and important figures are present have all kinds of defense systems and equipment, and no one believes how simple it was; perhaps overall there were only two fire trucks there, and then rescue equipment arrived. At those moments, I didn't answer the phone at all. From 2 o'clock onwards, my phone was constantly ringing and everyone was asking; I said nothing special had happened. I couldn't accept it and still am not

# Red Crescent Society Chief in Exclusive Interview with IRNA; Kolahvand's Account of First Moments After Explosion at Leader's Residence