TEHRAN, Iran \u2014 Nowhere in Tehran feels safe anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city is covered in smoke. The days feel ordinary, but the nights are terrifying. No one knows what might be targeted next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military bases and police stations are being struck, but police stations are often close to residential neighborhoods. One I passed today looked like something out of doomsday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A friend of mine was near the police station in Niloofar Square when it was attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The building was reduced to powder, and the residential buildings surrounding it were damaged, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People are scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A relative of mine was stuck in traffic for eight hours trying to reach an area just over 10 miles outside Tehran to see her 97-year-old mother, who is ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another friend lives near Sepah Square in central Tehran. Her house was shaking yesterday, so she left for her daughter\u2019s home in the neighborhood of Gisha last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the police station in Gisha was hit. Her family cried nonstop and eventually decided to leave for the north near the Caspian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A close friend lives near Saadabad Palace, built by the Pahlavi dynasty, and Tajrish on the edge of Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bomb blast shattered her windows. She could barely speak on the phone, and she was in a panic, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk now.\u201d It is a wealthy neighborhood, and perhaps a high-ranking official lives nearby \u2014 we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone has somewhere to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another friend had just adopted a puppy. The dog is only 6 weeks old and has just been vaccinated, so now she cannot leave her home. She cannot safely move with the puppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then there are the wounded. A hospital in northwest Tehran was filled with injured people, ordinary civilians and members of the Basij, a voluntary militia that is a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the 12-day war last year, people slowly became used to the tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this feels different. Older generations say they do not deserve this, from the Iran-Iraq War to 25 years of negotiations that led nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n