Nowhere feels safe from attack
A relative of mine was stuck in traffic for eight hours trying to reach an area just over 10 miles from Tehran to see his 97-year-old mother, who is ill.
Another friend lives near Sepah Square in central Tehran. Her house was shaking yesterday, so she went to her daughter’s house last night in the Gisha neighborhood.
Then, the Gisha police station was hit. His family cried non-stop and finally decided to move north to the Caspian Sea.
A close friend lives near Saadabad Palace, built by the Pahlavi dynasty, and Tajrish, on the Tehran border.
A bomb blast shattered its windows. She could barely speak on the phone and was panicked, saying, “I don’t want to talk right now.” It’s a wealthy neighborhood and maybe a high-ranking official lives nearby – we don’t know.
Not everyone has a place to go.
Another friend had just adopted a puppy. The dog is only six weeks old and has just been vaccinated, so she can no longer leave her house. She cannot move around safely with the puppy.
And then there are the injured. A hospital in northwest Tehran was filled with wounded people, ordinary civilians and members of the Basij, a volunteer militia that is a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
During last year’s 12-day war, people gradually became accustomed to the tension.
But this seems different. Older generations say they don’t deserve this, after the Iran-Iraq war and 25 years of negotiations that went nowhere.
