Tehran, Iran – Iran is celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, during wartime for the first time since the 1980s, when neighbouring Iraq launched a full-scale invasion, leading to eight years of war.In the lead-up to the festivities on Friday and the coming days, people queued up at local markets and shops in Tehran and across the country to buy flowers and exchange greetings despite heavy bombardment from United States and Israeli warplanes overnight, and periodically throughout the day.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listMany people were with loved ones at home for the moment of the spring equinox, which marks the start of the new year and symbolises new beginnings for Iranians. It occurred this year on Friday at 18:15:59pm local time (14:45:59 GMT).Some air defence batteries in Tehran fired intermittently for several minutes after the moment of the new year in an apparent celebratory move. Some people cheered from their windows and rooftops while others chanted “Death to the dictator”.“We’ve been mostly hunkered down at home, but regardless of the bombs and missiles, Nowruz is always a blessed time, and we will give it value as people have been for millennia,” said Ghazal, who lives in Tehran with her husband and two young children.“There is still a lot to hope for this year, even though the war also makes you concerned about the future of your children and country,” she told Al Jazeera, requesting that her identity remain anonymous.Several other residents of Tehran who spoke with Al Jazeera …
