The most consequential story of the week continues to unfold in the Middle East. The U.S. military carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, with President Donald Trump describing them as “retribution” after ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz. According to an unnamed U.S. official cited by Reuters, Wednesday’s strikes were expected to be greater in number than those carried out the day before.
The human toll is mounting — not in casualty figures alone, but in the psychological weight on ordinary Iranians. Sahar, a 34-year-old teacher in Tehran who shared only her first name for safety, described a population living on the knife’s edge. “Every night we remain alert, in fear, and charge our phones, keep our packed bags near the doors, and sleep lightly because we do not know when we will have to rush and leave the house,” she told The Guardian. “People here are tired and fed up; we want peace, dignity, and a normal life.”
Trump made the remarks while returning aboard Air Force One from a NATO summit in Turkey — a summit that itself was shadowed by the escalating conflict.
