‘Caught between a devil, a monster and a wildcat’
There had been growing speculation in recent days that further and larger strikes would hit Iranian nuclear facilities – especially Fordow, which is buried deep underground.
However, military experts had said only US bunker-busting bombs could destroy the facility, and that Israel doesn’t have that capability. As a result, many Iranians were worried an American attack might be coming soon.
Milad, 35, was one of them. He lives in the northwestern city of Mashhad, 900km from Tehran, and works as a computer engineer.
“They have the power and they use it against us,” he says.
“But I think if we give in now, it’ll only get worse. We need to strike back, firmly, at American bases in the region. Otherwise, Trump will just keep boasting: ‘See? I did what no other US president could’,” he adds.
“The other issue is that if we don’t respond, Israel will feel free to attack Iran whenever it wants. We must retaliate, even if Trump threatens a stronger response.”
Not everyone in Iran agrees with Milad.
Many Iranians are already unhappy with the Islamic Republic, and fear that retaliation could lead to even more destruction.
Negin, 44, is a psychologist living in Tehran. “Even if we launch a stronger counterattack, then what?” she asks.
According to the US military, 125 warplanes were used in the operation, 14 30,000-pound massive ordinance penetrator bombs were dropped on nuclear sites and B2 bombers and a nuclear submarine were involved.
“They’re more powerful, and the world has lost all sense of honour and humanity. They’ll strike back even harder and make life worse for the Iranian people. And in the end, western countries will say, ‘Trump did the dirty work for us. Now the world is a safer place’,” Negrin says.
“The world is cruel. Just like it stayed silent about the crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, it will stay silent about Iran too.”
Iranians’ wish to end hostilities but also respond to the attack reveals the confused state of Iran and public opinion. Many are distressed and unsure of what to do next.
Saeed, a chemical engineering graduate from Kermanshah in western Iran, says: “We’re caught between a devil, a monster and a wildcat”, by which he says he means “the Islamic Republic, Trump and Netanyahu”.
“And in between, it’s our lives – the ordinary people – that are being destroyed. We hate the government here for letting things get to this point, but Netanyahu and Trump are the most wicked people I’ve ever seen,” he tells MEE. [Continue reading…]