My main worry is for those in Tehran, the city targeted most so far. Relatives describe being asked to continue going to work as the authorities try to project a sense of “business as usual”, even though the reality is far from normal. Communication is patchy, there are no sirens or alerts before an attack, news arrives in fragments – and ordinary people navigate risks they did not choose, absorbing the consequences of external events. There is fatigue in their voices – not panic. And at times, they write to check on me, on us. Which is even more surreal.