I left Iran at age 12 and never went back because it never felt safe. At 48, I can finally picture returning home.

"Two or three weeks ago, I would've thought that Iran might be free by the time I was 90, and I could die there. I had this vision of me walking through the airport with a cane. Now, at age 48, I can see myself making a trip back to Iran within the next year, and potentially living there permanently within the next five."

"I have a lot of memories of running into bomb shelters during the Iran-Iraq war, and escaping Iran for Turkey for a week or two at a time to get away from the bombs. I knew my dad wanted to bring me to the US for a life of opportunity, but I was nervous about staying with him, since I didn't know him very well."

"There are really no words I have to describe what has happened in Iran over the past few days. I feel a mixture of excitement, disbelief, concern, fear, and hope. People in Iran that I've spoken to since the death of Khamenei are beyond excited."

Noshene Ranjbar left Iran at age 12 in 1989 to join her father in Virginia, escaping the Iran-Iraq war. She pursued education through medical school in America while co-founding a nonprofit to help trauma survivors. For decades, she believed she might only return to Iran near the end of her life. Following the recent death of Iran's supreme leader Khamenei, her perspective shifted dramatically. She now envisions returning within one year and potentially living there permanently within five years to participate in rebuilding the nation. Many diaspora Iranians share similar aspirations of returning home during this transformative period.

Read at Business Insider