鈥榃hat is this smoke, Mom?鈥� A Tehran schoolgirl discovers war.
| London
Morning had just dawned on Sunday when an inquisitive Iranian girl awakened to war.
Looking out her Tehran window, 7-year-old Tooba was amazed to see a large plume of smoke rising from a nearby neighborhood. It was the result of one of hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began Friday, targeting nuclear and energy facilities, and decimating the top echelons of Iran鈥檚 military elite.
The schoolgirl had slept through previous Israeli barrages, or she had watched cartoons and played Minecraft during daylight raids. But on Sunday she was confronted by unmistakable evidence that war is now directly impacting Iranian civilians 鈥� for the first time in more than a generation 鈥� and she raced to her mother.
Why We Wrote This
Israeli airstrikes mark the first time in four decades that Iranian civilians have known the violence of war. How are they managing the shock?
鈥淪he woke me to ask, 鈥榃hat is this smoke, Mom?鈥欌�� recalls Tooba鈥檚 mother, Elham, a painter and sculptor in Tehran, who, like other Iranians quoted in this article, asked that only their first names be used to discuss their personal experiences of the conflict.
鈥淚 told her a very simple story of battles between countries,鈥� says Elham, who lived through Iran鈥檚 war with Iraq during the 1980s, when each side rained missiles down on the other. 鈥淎nd I added some of my childhood memories, the sweet parts.鈥�
鈥淚 used to make a dolls鈥� house in the basement, to save my dolls,鈥� Elham recalls.
Unsatisfied, Tooba had two questions about this war that Elham found hard to answer.
鈥淒o they want to hurt us?鈥� was the first. The second: 鈥淎re we losing our house? And my room?鈥�
鈥淲e also had a sad talk about our cat, if we don鈥檛 take her with us,鈥� says Elham.
That prospect became much more concrete on Monday afternoon, when Israel issued orders to evacuate Elham鈥檚 district within hours.
When war hits home
Iranians are reeling from Friday鈥檚 surprise attack by Israel, which has reduced some targets to Gaza-style rubble and killed 224 people, 90% of them civilians, according to official figures.
Likewise, Iran鈥檚 barrage of hundreds of retaliatory missiles has also left a trail of destruction in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities 鈥� where until now Israelis, like Iranians, had largely been spared the direct impact of the many wars their leaders have waged.
For decades, Iranian television 鈥� and the fiery anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rhetoric of Iran鈥檚 leaders 鈥� has focused on the catastrophic results of conflicts elsewhere, either wars started by its two archfoes, or wars involving Iran abroad or its well-armed regional allies.
But Iranians have not tasted war on the home front since they fought Iraqi troops, between 1980 and 1988. Now Israel鈥檚 campaign 鈥� which seems designed to sow doubts in Iranians鈥� minds about their leaders, as well as do damage to the country鈥檚 nuclear program 鈥� has brought war into Iranian sitting rooms.
Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project
鈥淗earing about such events from the media is one thing, but when you hear them from people around you, it becomes more shocking,鈥� says a young Iranian professional and resident of Tehran, who gives the name Hossein.
His wife is still in shock, he says, after hearing from a friend that two of her daughter鈥檚 schoolmates, both around 10 years old, were killed in an Israeli strike in western Tehran. It took hours to remove their remains from beneath the rubble.
鈥淣o matter how precise and targeted these attacks are, human casualties are inevitable,鈥� says Hossein. 鈥淲itnessing such horrible scenes is not common in Iran. I myself had no idea how it feels when a fighter jet flies above your head.鈥�
Israel鈥檚 Defense Minister, Israel Katz, warned that all Tehran 鈥渨ill burn鈥� if Iran continues to aim missile barrages at Israeli civilian targets. Iranian officials have made it clear, however, that revenge remains their top priority.
So Iranians are clogging highways out of the capital. Gas stations are besieged, and shops are emptying of essentials.
鈥淭his is the face of war. I persuaded my family to travel north so they could be in a safer place聽鈥撀營 don鈥檛 know what will happen to me,鈥� says a veteran Iranian journalist in Tehran who asked not to be named. 鈥淭his kind of departure means letting go of everything you have and securing the bare minimum to survive.鈥�
鈥淪ome restaurants and caf茅s are still operating,鈥� says the journalist. 鈥淥verall, those who remember the 1980s war might be a bit calmer, but the younger generation, which has no memory of the sounds of war from those days, is shocked by what鈥檚 happening. Sometimes they follow the news with excitement, and other times with deep anxiety.鈥�
Doubts about government on the rise
Iranians note a 鈥渞ally-around-the-flag鈥� effect across Iran鈥檚 usually divided political spectrum, in the face of attack from an outside enemy. Hossein Dehbashi, for example, who once made a film supporting a reformist Iranian president, had no compunction about posting a message backing the revenge response of the current conservative leadership.
鈥淭he only effective pressure is injecting fear inside Israel and triggering domestic demands there,鈥� Mr. Dehbashi posted on X. 鈥淎nd that only comes with heavy Zionist casualties. Pray for our missiles!鈥�
Still, the Israeli strikes have also made many Iranians wonder whether the unrelenting anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rhetoric since the 1979 Islamic Revolution helped pave the way for the assault.
鈥淭hey had hopes that Iran鈥檚 response would reduce the intensity of the Israeli attacks, but it didn鈥檛 happen,鈥� Hossein says.
Hossein recalls how one regime supporter, clearly frustrated, told him that 鈥渙ur officials underestimated this enemy. Our situation would be different if they hadn鈥檛 wasted their time with empty threats.鈥�
Another friend marveled to Hossein that Israel could kill so many top Iranian commanders so quickly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly regrettable to see that people who claimed for years to be defending us couldn鈥檛 even ensure their own safety inside their homes,鈥� the friend told Hossein. 鈥淚f Israel could eliminate them this easily, then everything we鈥檝e been told over the years was just a bunch of lies.鈥�
鈥淭here are still people who support the regime, but when you talk to them, many no longer seem to have the same trust in the Islamic Republic that they had before,鈥� says Hossein. 鈥淚t seems they are losing their morale.鈥�
