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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour in Tehran

‘The people stood up’: how war turned Iran towards ‘everyday nationalism’

A woman in a hijab holding an Iranian flag being photographed by another woman in front of a crowd holding Iranian flags
Large crowds in Tehran gather following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Amid the ruins of the building that was once the Tehran home of the Iranian nuclear scientist Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, workmen are underway demolishing the remains, damaged beyond repair by Israel’s surprise attempt to assassinate Iran’s political, military and nuclear elite.

Zolfaghari had worked at the Faculty of Nuclear Engineering at Shahid Beheshti University, and was editor-in-chief of a nuclear energy journal, all of which was sufficient to make him an Israeli target. He was found dead in the rubble of his home, along with his wife and grownup son. The three adjoining buildings had also been blown apart, killing at least five others, including an 11-year-old child. A blue banner, draped down one of the damaged buildings, reads: “A piece of the body of Iran.”

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