When Iran erupted in nationwide protests at the end of 2025, Shayan Ghadimi's mother returned to the country from Paris to see the uprising for herself.
Her absence — and the struggle to stay in touch through the bloody crackdown that followed and now the Iran war — hang over the family. Like many Iranians outside the country, they will mark the normally festive Persian new year, known as Nowruz, with heavy hearts — or not at all.
