More than 3,000 residents of Tehran whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by coalition airstrikes have been moved into 12 hotels across the city, according to officials at Tehran's municipal council. The displaced represent roughly 900 families. In cases where damage was limited to shattered windows, authorities say they are helping residents restore living conditions and return.
The hotel programme is the most visible government response to the displacement crisis since the war began. But it covers less than one percent of the people who have been forced from their homes. United Nations estimates indicate that approximately 100,000 people left Tehran within the first 48 hours of the strikes. The vast majority of those displaced have had no access to government shelters. Most have moved in with relatives in provincial cities, crowded into bus stations, or camped along open roads. Inside the hotels, conditions are strained. Rooms are overcrowded, with multiple families sharing single spaces. There is no medical care, no psychological support, and no schooling for children. The programme provides a roof and basic meals. Beyond that, families are largely on their own. Three rooms, one crisis Ali Reza Hosseini arrived at one of the hotels three days after an airstrike destroyed his family's apartment in southern Tehran. He, his wife Fatima, and their four children, aged between four and 12, share a small room with another family.
"The room is very small, and sleeping is difficult, especially for the children," Ali shared with The New Arab . "My children, Ali and Sara, sleep on an uncomfortable floor while Mohammad and Leila play in a tight corner that barely allows them to move."
He said food is available, but it does not cover all their daily needs, adding that the children suffer from severe anxiety and fear of continued bombing. "The hotels provide temporary shelter only," he added. "They do not address the tension or the feeling of insecurity. Our daily life has stopped. Our children have been deprived of any sense of stability."
Ibrahim Rezaei and his family of five were transferred to a hotel near a metro station, which made access easier. But his 14-year-old son Mehdi sustained minor injuries during the bombing, and his wife Nasreen needs ongoing health monitoring due to psychological distress. There are no medical teams or mental health workers inside the hotel, he said.
"The hotel provides the bare minimum of food and shelter but includes no support for our health or psychological needs," Ibrahim told The New Arab. "Public transport is functioning, but the overcrowding on buses and the metro adds to our exhaustion."
Karim Mousavi and his wife, Leila, have been staying at a hotel for a week with their two children, 11-year-old Arzoo and 6-year-old Sajjad. Neither child has attended school since the family was displaced. There are no temporary classrooms or educational activities inside the hotel.
"We live in a double room with another family, which makes it impossible for the children to focus or play safely," Karim said. "Leila is constantly worried about the psychological impact on them. The fear of airstrikes makes the tension worse every night." A programme that covers less than 1% Fazlollah Moradi, a Tehran municipal official, said teams conduct daily field visits to damaged neighborhoods to assess the scale of destruction and determine what help is needed. The 12 hotels represent the full extent of the current programme, he said, and the gap between what the government can provide and what the population needs is enormous.
He acknowledged that the city faces severe logistical challenges, including a shortage of construction workers for infrastructure repair after many labourers and engineers fled the capital.
Municipal construction projects have continued but at a significantly reduced pace, affecting urgent maintenance of roads, electricity, water, and sanitation in the damaged neighbourhoods.
Fazlollah said authorities are coordinating with international organisations to provide food and water to displaced people outside the hotel system, but the pressure on municipal staff has been immense.
Majid Tohidi, who manages a hotel near Resalat Square, said his facility has taken in roughly 80 families in rooms designed for far fewer people. Some rooms are shared by three families, he explained, while registration requires official documentation and the process is strict, meaning some families wait days before being admitted.
"We try to provide food and basic facilities, but the resources are limited," Majid said. "We understand that hotels cannot provide a dignified life or privacy. They offer temporary protection only. Every day we try to organise the rooms and reduce the pressure, but the growing number of families makes it impossible to meet all needs." The invisible toll Saman Beheshti, an Iranian human rights researcher, said the hotel programme offers temporary protection but fails to address the broader humanitarian dimensions of the crisis.
The gap between what the authorities provide and what displaced families actually need is vast, he said, particularly in medical services, psychological support, and education for children.
"Children are living in overcrowded rooms and suffering from constant anxiety and stress," Saman told The New Arab . "Women face additional pressures because of the loss of privacy. The programme is temporary and does not offer any comprehensive response to the humanitarian suffering."
He called for international relief organisations to intervene and expand the scope of support, including mobile medical and psychological teams inside the hotels and temporary educational spaces for children nearby.
Other cities, including Qom and towns in northern Iran, are receiving large waves of displaced people but have even fewer resources than Tehran. In Qom, many are staying with relatives or in makeshift shelters that lack basic services. Municipalities are providing minimal food and water, underscoring the logistical and security challenges facing authorities nationwide and the urgent need for a broader international humanitarian response.
Religious leader Hojatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad Aghamiri said Tehran's public transport network is still running on its regular schedule, with buses, taxis, and the metro all operational and free for displaced residents. Most municipal construction projects remain underway, he said, though some contractors have lost workers who left the city since the fighting began.
The transport system helps families reach the hotels. It does not help with what happens once they arrive. Inside, children sleep on floors, families queue for meals, and the sound of warplanes overhead is a nightly reminder that the war is far from over. Mahmoud Aslan is an Iranian journalist based in Tehran This story was published in collaboration with Egab