Tehran diary: dark and bitter, the terror of life under US-Israeli bombardment

2026-03-13 - 05:23

Elahi, a former political prisoner writing under a pseudonym, details a sleepless night in the Iranian capital It’s 5am on Thursday 12 March. I was finally falling asleep after a day full of fear when the phone rang. Terror rushes through me. It’s not the right time for a call. Someone must need help – or maybe they are alone and frightened. I answer the phone, exhausted. It’s my younger sister. She is crying and cannot speak. My heart breaks into a thousand pieces. I haven’t seen her for many days. When I was released from prison, she had gone to another city to take care of our mother. Continue reading...