‘We must preserve our traditions’: war casts shadow over Iranian Nowruz celebrations

Many Iranians were determined to mark the Persian new year despite the bombing entering its fourth week Heavy strikes echoed across Tehran during one of the country’s biggest holidays as Tel Aviv said it had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, a move that further escalated the conflict. Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations. He wrote on social media: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives.” But the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said that strikes would “intensify” in the next week. People in Tehran shop for Nowruz at Tajrish Bazaar. Despite the war, some Iranians said they were determined to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian new year’s day. Others felt the moment did not allow for it. Nowruz – also celebrated across central Asia, parts of the Caucasus and among Kurds throughout the Middle East – marks the spring equinox, and is traditionally seen as a time of renewal, hope, and new beginnings. People sit in Parvaz Park overlooking Tehran ahead of the celebrations. Since 28 February, when the war began, most vendors in Tajrish Bazaar, one of the capital’s liveliest covered mar