"Why Did So Many People Think This War Was a Good Idea?"

Bombing began with claims that only military targets were struck and that no homes were destroyed. Early days of the attacks saw rapid civilian impact, including children at school and reports of a school bombing in Minab with more than 100 child deaths. Internet disruptions led many people to use VPNs to access information, while some celebrated the strikes and others described living through an apocalypse. Messages sent to contacts in Iran often went unseen at first, then replies described people fleeing because missiles hit near homes and military zones. Families drove to safer areas, including mountains near the Caspian region, to escape ongoing blasts.

"“There is nothing to be worried about. Israel and the US are only hitting military targets and bases of government repression. Not a single home has been destroyed. Except for perhaps some minor incidental damage.” I read Amir's words once, and then once again. It was March 5, five days after the United States and Israel had launched a war on Iran. A thousand people had already been killed. Tehran was scarred by bomb blasts."

"“It feels like we're living the apocalypse,” my friend Maryam, an activist in her 50s, told me over the phone. “The first day, the bombing started around 9:30 in the morning. Kids had just started school. But when the missiles hit, they closed and sent everyone home. There were children everywhere, screaming with tears in their eyes, as they waited for their parents to pick them up and loud explosions boomed all around. And at that exact moment, the Americans bombed a school in Minab, and more than 100 kids died. I don't wish upon anyone the horrors we've lived.”"

"Most messages I sent showed a single check mark on WhatsApp, meaning they went unseen and undelivered. Over time, however, many got back to me, including my friend Kamyar, an architect in his 30s who lives in northeastern Tehran with his parents: “Our apartment is right next to a military zone, and the missiles were hitting all around us. We had to leave.” On the second day of the bombing, they drove to the mountains near the Casp"

Read at The Nation