‘Sense of doom’: fear and foreboding over Iran war among London’s divided diaspora

A man walks past a wall in Golders Green, north London, showing pictures of protesters killed during anti-government demonstrations in Iran. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Sara* arranged slices of watermelon on a plate and poured mint tea into glass mugs. Outside her window, in North Finchley, lies the stretch of London known affectionately as Little Tehran, home to one of the UK’s largest Iranian communities.

“When the bombing happened, the streets here went crazy,” she said. “People were covering themselves in flags and chanting for the king to come back.”