The evening of Monday, December 17, 1404, marked one of the most solemn and heartbreaking gatherings in recent years within the political and social fabric of the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the Noor Mosque in Tehran, a large assembly of senior officials, statesmen, public figures, and ordinary citizens came together to mourn with Ismail Saqab Esfahani, Vice President and Head of the Energy Optimization and Strategic Management Organization, whose wife and children had recently lost their lives in a tragic traffic accident. The presence of key political leaders—including President Masoud Pezhakian, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, members of the 14th Cabinet, government ministers, and several parliamentarians—transformed the funeral into a national moment of grief.
This devastating accident, which claimed the lives of Fatemeh Heydari, the vice president’s wife, and later the couple’s children, Hasana and Mohammad Subhan, not only struck at the heart of a prominent public official but also touched the emotions of many Iranians across the country. The tragedy unfolded on Sunday, December 9, 1404, when a Tara sedan transporting the family collided with a parked Benz truck on the Tehran–Semnan route near Ivanaki. The suddenness of the impact, the loss of life, and the painful days that followed as the children fought for survival cast a deep shadow on the national psyche.
