An Iranian Watches the Bombs Drop
The horror of Donald Trump’s war on Iran as experienced by an Iranian living in New York City.
The destruction of a home in Tehran after it was hit by an Israeli air strike on June 23, 2025, in Iran. (Majid Saeedi / Getty Images)
June 17
The hours pass without me noticing. I’m glued to my phone. I look up and realize I’ve been scrolling the news since 5 a.m. and it’s already noon. Time moves on, unbothered by what is happening in my country, Iran, just like the people I hear outside my apartment window.
Friday night. Saturday night. Sunday night. I stay on FaceTime, listening for the sound of missiles from a loved one’s rooftop. The chaos of Manhattan’s Lower East Side blurs the sound.
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