TEHRAN — In typical occasions, Nowruz is a much-anticipated second of hope throughout Iran.
Preparations for the Persian New 12 months start days prematurely, with individuals spring-cleaning their dwelling — “shaking the home,” because the expression goes — or shopping for new garments and furnishings.
Tehran’s streets burst with buyers perusing markets for flowers, painted eggs and confections for his or her “haft-sin” desk, the standard unfold of seven gadgets symbolizing spring, renewal and prosperity.
A girl outlets for flowers in Tehran forward of the Persian New 12 months, or Nowruz, which started March 20, 2026.
(Vahid Salemi / Related Press)
However these will not be typical occasions.
With the warfare on Iran in its fourth week, it’s a somber Nowruz, its soundtrack the rumbles, booms and explosions of U.S.-Israeli bombardment and Iran’s antiaircraft defenses.
“1000’s killed and contemporary casualties each day…. What’s to have fun?” mentioned Ali Pourasi, a taxi service supervisor.
Somewhat than keep dwelling, he spent the primary day of Nowruz, Friday, within the workplace in west Tehran together with his shih tzu, Michelle. Each time a strike got here, he ran to the balcony to see the place it hit. Michelle hid beneath a desk.
“I’m too depressed to even arrange the haft-sin unfold within the workplace,” Pourasi mentioned.
“My spouse insisted we’ve one at dwelling,” he added. “However right here, I simply couldn’t do it.”
Nowruz, which is widely known by a whole lot of tens of millions worldwide and includes 13 days of festivities, follows a very bruising yr for Iranians.
At the same time as contemporary violence is wreaked on the nation, there has but to be a full accounting of the federal government’s brutal crackdown in January, throughout which hundreds of individuals protesting the deteriorating economic system had been killed by safety forces.
A girl outlets forward of Nowruz, which implies “new day,” at a bazaar in north Tehran. Costs are unusually excessive this yr for a lot of items.
(Vahid Salemi / Related Press)
The protests had been uncommon public shows of discontent by a populace that’s endured Western-imposed financial sanctions and a sclerotic, corruption-riddled economic system that has hobbled a lot of this oil-rich nation of 93 million into poverty.
Fatemah, who was standing in line for bread at a neighborhood bakery, appeared crestfallen as she defined how this Nowruz, which implies “new day” in Persian, was even worse than others. She couldn’t afford to purchase garments for her three youngsters.
“I’m altering the garments of my eldest so no less than the youthful ones have one thing,” she mentioned. Like many interviewed, she didn’t disclose her full title to keep away from harassment by the federal government.
Even entertaining company was out of attain. The nuts and conventional sweets she would provide company now value 3 times what she usually paid. Persian tradition places a premium on hospitality, however present situations make that tough.
“We’re attempting to not pay any visits to household so we’re not compelled to reciprocate and have them at dwelling,” Fatemah mentioned. “I’ve needed to shut our door to company this Nowruz.”
Hossein, a close-by nut vendor, wasn’t blissful both. This Nowruz ought to have been the equal of Black Friday for him, however his enterprise was halved in contrast with final yr, he estimated.
Amplifying the gravity of the second was the isolation, with an web blackout rendering it nearly not possible for Iranians to achieve out to kin and buddies overseas. Even home messaging platforms, equivalent to Rubika and Bale, work solely intermittently.
An earlier U.S.-Israeli strike exposes a lounge in a residential constructing in Tehran on March 23, 2026.
(Vahid Salemi / Related Press)
For activist Golshan Fathi, there was little signal of Nowruz on Gandhi Road, a industrial thoroughfare in north Tehran.
In years previous, she mentioned in a publish on X, girls would throng textile shops, giving a discerning contact to the material they’d buy for newlyweds. She spoke of pastry outlets promoting sweets so engaging that hardly any survived the journey dwelling.
Although Gandhi Road was comparatively unscathed by the U.S. and Israeli bombardment, it felt as if “nobody had breathed life into it for years.” The material shops and cafes had been shuttered, with a silence that settled “like a heavy blanket.” Even the vanilla scent close to the candy store had pale.
“Gandhi seems like a spot whose inhabitants have slowly drifted away from it. I walked, and with each step I sank deeper into reminiscence — the distributors’ voices, the haggling, the laughter for no motive,” Fathi wrote.
“Now it’s simply me left, and a avenue that resembles the previous greater than ever.”
This yr Nowruz ought to have been much more particular, because it coincides with Eid al-Fitr, the pageant marking the tip of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. However many of the communal prayer occasions had been canceled, with just one massive gathering held within the Grand Mosalla mosque.
“I’m celebrating neither Nowruz nor Fitr this yr,” mentioned Hasan, a Tehran butcher who mentioned he noticed two-thirds of his income worn out.
Folks go to Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to honor their deceased kin on the final day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the tip of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran on March 22, 2026.
(Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu / Getty Pictures)
“It’s easy: My costs simply aren’t inexpensive for the decrease center and even the center class lately,” he mentioned, including that even moneyed shoppers opted for hen and fish moderately than the costlier beef and mutton.
Regardless of the state of affairs, some insist on going by the motions. Like yearly, Tehran’s Tajrish Sq. was filled with stalls piled excessive with hyacinth, garlic and sprouts, whereas some featured mini-pools holding tiny goldfish, all conventional components of the haft-sin.
Most retailers interviewed agreed enterprise wasn’t as brisk as earlier than, however native media shops nonetheless depicted crowds braving the potential for bombing.
Mirza Mohammad, 70, was equally decided to keep up his ordinary ritual of strolling to the park close to his dwelling in west Tehran and chatting with neighbors.
In fact, discussions lately had been dominated by information of the warfare, however no less than he was amongst buddies. He would even come right here for the Sizdah Bedar, the thirteenth and final day of Nowruz, when Iranians historically spend the day open air.
“We’ll have a picnic proper right here…” he mentioned, then paused for a second earlier than finishing his thought, “if there aren’t explosions.”
Occasions workers author Bulos reported from Beirut and particular correspondent Mostaghim from Tehran.
