Tehran residents form human chains as ceasefire ends U.S.-Israeli strikes

Iranians formed human chains around historical monuments and power plants as a U.S.-Israeli military campaign struck Tehran from Feb. 28 until a ceasefire on April 7, 2026, with ordinary residents defying the conflict through daily routines and cultural celebration, The Korea Times reported.

The Korea Times account of civilian life inside wartime Tehran offers a rare firsthand perspective on a conflict that has drawn global attention and carries deep resonance for diaspora communities across the United States, including Southern California's large Iranian-heritage population.

As U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iran beginning Feb. 28, 2026, thousands of Iranians organized human chains to encircle bridges, historical monuments and power plants in acts of civilian resistance, according to The Korea Times. Among the most notable acts of defiance, Ali Ghamsari, a celebrated tar player and composer, staged a solo sit-in at Tehran's Damavand power plant.

The human toll of the campaign was documented through the account of a Seoul-based writer whose mother lives in Tehran — a city where she has weathered the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and decades of upheaval. Three weeks into the conflict, she reached her son by phone with a brief message. "I'm just calling to let you know we're okay," she said, according to The Korea Times.

On March 18, a police station in the woman's neighborhood was struck — two days before Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. When her son asked whether bombs had fallen near her home, she replied: "Don't worry, we're fine. Life goes on," The Korea Times reported.

Communication from Iran was severely restricted throughout the strikes, with internet blackouts making contact difficult and international calls expensive and sporadic, according to the report. The Khorasani Synagogue, which stood two blocks from Mehr Hospital in Tehran, was reduced to rubble during the campaign.

President Donald Trump on Easter Sunday threatened to engage in "blasting Iran into oblivion," warning he would destroy bridges and power plants unless Iran met his demands by April 7 — the same day a ceasefire was announced. Trump separately declared his intention to "TAKE THE OIL & MAKE A FORTUNE" from Iran, according to The Korea Times. The stated rationale for the campaign was preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a justification the writer compared to the case made for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The ceasefire announced April 7 halted the strikes that began Feb. 28, though the political future of Iran and its relationship with the United States remain unresolved, according to The Korea Times.