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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
William Christou in Beirut, Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad and Deepa Parent

‘You worry what’s going to come next’: Iranians brace themselves as war looms

First responders attend a bombed area covered in dust and rubble
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has threatened ‘severe punishment’ against Israel but its regional allies have been slow to come forward in solidarity. Photograph: Meghdad Madadi/Tasnim News/AFP/Getty Images

Despite the strikes earlier in the day, Sahar* and her family decided to take a stroll in one of Tehran’s parks on Friday night, the eve of Eid al-Ghadir, a major Shia holiday. But, instead of the usual festive fireworks, the sky was lit up by bright red anti-aircraft missiles streaking across the horizon.

“Seeing Iranian missiles over your heads worries you, you worry what’s going to come next. Will it be a war, destruction?” said Sahar over the phone. She sent a video to the Guardian that shows people in the park hurriedly packing up and looking up as the crack of anti-aircraft munitions rings out overhead.

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