When the United States and Israel launched their illegal war on Iran on February 28, they called on the Iranian people to rise up. They then proceeded to bomb not just military targets, but civilian housing, universities, schools, hospitals, commercial buildings and historical sites.In the sound of explosions today, many Iranians hear echoes from the past: from the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.In the fall of 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, I was a 20-year-old student at Tehran Polytechnic University and a member of an opposition group. The first time I saw the impact of war firsthand was in October of that year. One evening, my friend Farhad and I were standing in line to load two boxes of antigovernment pamphlets onto a bus heading to Isfahan; given the restriction of movement and the checkpoints set up by the Revolutionary Guard, this was the only safe way to transport such materials.Suddenly, the thunderous shots of air defence systems shook the ground and lit the sky with blue, orange, yellow, and red rays of light. The sirens went off. I had never felt so fearful, helpless, and disoriented. Running around to find a possible shelter, the ground shaking under my feet, the smashing booms of unremi …
