This year’s Nowruz holidays ended amidst the sounds of bombs, drones and missiles. The first week of university reopening for the new solar year began while, according to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, over 30 universities in cities across Iran have been directly and indirectly targeted by Israel and the United States over the past five weeks. Dozens of professors and students have been killed and classes are being held online.The spring air in Tehran, with its white clouds and occasional rains, sometimes makes you forget about the war. Sunday evening, the roar of enemy aircraft and the sound of anti-aircraft fire mingled with the sound of thunder. As is customary each year, the Tehran municipality has adorned the entire city with beautiful violets. However, the streets are not as crowded as usual, and some shops close before sunset. Cafés, however, remain the busiest places in every neighbourhood. Many young people gather inside and outside them, and their main conversations revolve around the war and the future.Each day that passes brings us closer to the end of Trump’s ultimatum. He has said he will strike power plants and bridges! He has said he will return Iran to the “Stone Age”! Trump does not know history: When his ancestors were living in the Stone Age, empires like Iran, India and Egypt were home to great and magnificent civilisations that left behind invaluable legacies for the world’s culture and wisdom.Last week, steel industries in various cities were attacked and suffered significant damage. Since Saturday, attacks on petrochemical plants in southern Iran have begun.On Monday morning, I went to University of Tehran to attend a meeting. I heard from friends that civil society organisations are planning to form human chains to protect vital centres. On Monday evening, Ali Ghamsari, a young and renowned lute player, went to the Damavand power plant and announced: “My instrument and I are shields against the suffering of the Iranian people.” And he began to play authentic and beautiful melodies.Today is Tuesday. Although Trump’s ultimatum ends at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Israel has begun attacking bridges since early Tuesday morning. It was announced early this morning that passenger train travel has also been suspended. Many airports have also been targeted in recent weeks, and domestic and international flights are not operating. For a country like Iran, with its beautiful Alborz mountain range in the north and Zagros in the west, bridges are the primary connectors of highways and roads.A woman shops for flowers ahead of the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, meaning “New Day,” in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)But it is not just the bridges that are important; for a country that possesses one of the world’s largest reserves of oil and gas, the petrochemical industries hold special significance. For a country that has been under the strictest economic sanctions for years, developing steel industries has been a giant undertaking.This afternoon (April 7), I held an online class on geopolitics with Master’s students at Allameh Tabataba’i University. We were halfway through the class when one of the students sent a message: “Professor, they are heavily bombing here.” I asked, “Where are you?” He said, “In West Tehran, across the Milad Tower.”I went to the window. Dark smoke was visible in the distance. I ended the class a little early.I am working with my colleagues in the university’s Public Relations department to prepare an online program to commemorate the memory of the professors and students who have lost their lives. We need to prepare three video clips. I was searching to see which music would be suitable to accompany the images of the martyrs and the devastated universities. Among the patriotic songs, I chose a song titled “Iran, O Land of Hope”. It includes the following lines:Although hearts are filled with bloodThe splendid joy doth flood…Throughout these 39 days, although I have been deeply saddened and angry, I had refrained from weeping. But hearing this song brought tears to my eyes.I said goodbye to the few colleagues who were still at the university, we entrusted each other to the great God, praying that Iran would remain proud and victorious.I went to my mother’s house at dusk. The television was on, and hearing the news was heartbreaking. I sent the note I recently wrote about the importance of India’s support for Iran, which my esteemed friends published on the The Wire, to my professors and friends in cities and universities throughout India. I had to do this tonight. Perhaps we will not have internet tomorrow. Perhaps we will not have electricity. Heartfelt messages arriving, one by one, from my friends from all over India, were a source of encouragement.On my way home, I stopped at a gas station. In recent weeks, the gas stations have only been crowded during the first few days. The intercity roads have also not faced heavy traffic. I spent three or four days at the beginning of Nowruz travelling to and from the Mazandaran province in northern Iran and encountered less traffic than in previous years. It took about 15 minutes to fill up the car tonight. I picked up milk and yogurt from the grocery store around the corner. It appears that the management of access to essential goods for people has been handled well and better than during the twelve-day war.Iran University of Science and Technology, a top-ranked public university in Iran, after US-Israel strikes in late March 2026. Photo: @Helyeh_Doutaghi/XOnce I got home, I started reading through a report from one of the recent scientific meetings we had held at the university. Even during the Nowruz holidays this year, scientific meetings continued to be held online. The topic of most of these meetings was the prospects for Iran in the post-war era. Issues such as Iran’s future regional diplomacy in the West Asia, the government’s new political discourse in the post-war period, ways to repair social divisions, Iran’s economy during and after the war, and ways to increase Iranian society’s resilience are among the topics that professors of the humanities and social sciences from various universities have discussed and debated upon invitation from Allameh Tabataba’i University.Now, it is 9:30 p.m. Tehran time. Less than six hours remain until the end of Trump’s ultimatum. I have decided to listen to less news and engage in conversations with professors and students on Iranian social media. Late tonight, I will read couplets from the Shahnameh and greet the Wednesday morning sun with the stories of Iranian history and mythology and their victory over the demons.Mandana Tishehyar is a faculty member, Department of Asian Studies, ECO College, Allameh Tabataba’i University. She did her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. She lives in Tehran.