April 17, 2026
On this day, I lost my beloved step grandmother’s twin sister, Esmat. She was a hearty woman, proud and dignified, who married an immigrant. Her husband lived in Azerbaijan under Soviet rule. He moved to Iran after losing his son, on a picnic by a river. He went swimming never to return, at the young age of ten.
Many Iranian children have suffered the same fate. It is not uncommon in Iran for families to lose their young son while swimming in a wild river on a weekend picnic trip.
Yet, people especially those who can afford less continue to enjoy the simple way of life in Iran. They like cooking large meals of rice and stew to take their families out on a picnic, one of few pleasures in nature since the Islamic revolution of 1979 that has restricted so many other forms of social and public interactions.
Another simple pleasure in Iran is to take pride in the country’s rich poetic history and historic monuments, unsurpassed in complexity, mysticism and beauty. It is not uncommon for Iranians to read poetry while out in nature, or enjoy swimming in the river next to an ancient landscape or monument.
Sadly, Israel’s strikes on Iran are killing many of these innocent people who are otherwise content with the modest lives they have. It could be that some families will lose their sons in these strikes before they have a chance to dive in a river and risk dying by trying to swim instead of in war.
Israel also targets Iran’s historic monuments, and its actions appear like wiping off an entire civilizational heritage of an ancient nation. President Trump who supports Israel’s war has publicly spoken about wiping this civilization off the face of history.
The leaders of Iran have not made things easy either. They have chanted “death to America, death to Israel.” Some demanded that Israel should disappear from the pages of history.
The net result of this is the erosion of compassion that is desperately needed in time of war. The law of war demands compassion toward civilians, civilizations, and civilian infrastructures. This means restraining fire, to avoid accidental targeting of a nation’s beautiful people and heritage. Restraint must also be observed in how leaders speak in time of war. The more compassionately they speak, the less likely it is that they will harm civilians, people and their heritage. To be truly compassionate demands apologizing to the people when their homes, schools, hospitals, and historic monuments are accidentally targeted. It is powerful to apologize in these circumstances. Above all, it is an act of compassion in the midst of war.