(AFP) TEHRAN: After their sleep was disrupted by Israeli strikes that triggered blasts that echoed throughout the city, Tehran residents awoke on Saturday and went about their business as planned.
Light trails left by air defense weapons had dotted the night sky, but by midday, the capital had resumed its normal pace and buses were weaving through the streets to take troubled Iranians to work.
The attack has been downplayed by Iranian officials and the media, but many people in Tehran were worried that it was a new escalation and a step toward total war.
When Hooman, a 42-year-old factory worker, heard the explosions, he was working the night shift.
He told AFP, “It was an echoing sound… terrible and horrifying.” We are concerned that we will be drawn into the Middle East conflict now that there is one.
The Israeli attack on Saturday came in response to Iran’s missile strike on October 1, which was itself a retaliation for the deaths of militant leaders who were backed by Iran and a commander of the Revolutionary Guards.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which has recently expanded to include Lebanon’s Hezbollah, is the backdrop for the most recent tit-for-tat actions.
In response to what it described as “months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran,” the Israeli military claimed on Saturday that it had carried out “precise strikes on military targets in Iran.”
Tehran was warned not to respond.
Iran stated that the blasts heard were the “activation of the air defense system” intercepting the Israeli attack and confirmed that Israel targeted military sites in Tehran province and other areas.
Somewhere around two Iranian warriors kicked the bucket in the strikes.
Fears of an escalation Some people in Tehran expressed concerns about the conflict getting out of hand.
Moharam, a 51-year-old day laborer, stated, “If they attack, it will be us who will be crushed.”
Others, notwithstanding, said they were altogether uninformed that an assault had even occurred.
The attack, which also targeted areas in the border provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, has been downplayed by Iranian media, which reported that Iran’s air defense forces caused “limited damage.”
In several cities, footage broadcast by state media showed people going about their daily business while traffic flowed normally.
Iranian officials stressed that all school and sporting events would go on as planned.
Following the attack, flights over Iran were briefly halted for a few hours, but they later resumed as scheduled.
Sepideh, a 30-year-old insurance manager, claims that despite her concerns, she awoke on Saturday and rushed to work as usual.
She stated, “War is terrifying… but I don’t think a terrible war will happen in Iran.”
