Even when a door slams, I jump, thinking that bombs are falling," said a 37-year-old mother living in Tehran. Unlike in the opening months of the war, her children are going to school. "I don't work, but keeping the children at home out of fear is not a solution," she told DW.
"They would go stir-crazy in our small apartment." Schools remain open across Iran despite the military standoff with the US and Israel. However, some parents whose children attend private schools have received messages from those schools explaining what to do in the event of a renewed war or other emergency. Numerous parents have shared such messages on social media.
The country's Ministry of Education has tried to reassure the public. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "People should not pay attention to rumors spread with the aim of sowing fear and forcing schools to close," Ali Farhadi, a ministry spokesperson, said in a recent media interview. He said the ministry will decide whether the schools stay open or close, and will do so in coordination with the security authorities.
Should the security outlook change, the situation will be reassessed accordingly, the official said. Parallel to Farhadi's appeal to disregard rumors aimed at raising fear, state media themselves are discussing scenarios of a possible nuclear attack. On November 2, Iranian state television broadcast an advisory on protective measures in case of a nuclear strike.
People were advised to remain in a shelter for at least 24 hours in the event of such an emergency. Specifically, many in Iran fear the US is preparing to use nuclear weapons against Iran's "Pickaxe Mountain" underground bunker located some 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Tehran. US President Donald Trump has hinted at attacking the location, which is close to Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, but made no explicit mention of using nuclear weapons.
Iranian government denies that any work related to its nuclear program is being carried out at the mountain bunker. The fighting between the US and Iran has mostly petered out in recent months as the Trump administration focused on the midterm election. But two days after the election, on November 5, the US news outlet Axios reported that the US military was making final preparations for a possible resumption of large-scale strikes against Iran.
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