Life appeared to be back to normal in Tehran after a tumultuous night marked by Israel's unprecedented air attacks on Iranian military targets that killed four soldiers on Saturday.
Israel launched pre-dawn airstrikes on missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran in retaliation for Iran's missile strike on Israel on October 1.
On October 1, Iran fired approximately 180 missiles at Israeli targets. Tehran described the strikes as retaliation for the assassinations of several leaders of regional resistance groups, among other things.
Iran's air defense headquarters claimed the Israeli attacks on Saturday resulted in "limited damage".
Iranians awoke early Saturday to the sounds of explosions in Tehran and other parts of the country, which drew some residents to their rooftops to watch as Iran's air defense systems responded to Israeli strikes.
But soon after Israel's attacks, life in Iran appeared to return to normal, with shoppers crowding the markets, traffic snarling the streets of the capital and residents making the usual commute to work.
"Today, everything is normal. The shops are open everywhere. I even went to the bank, and there is no special news—everyone is continuing their daily life, and we didn’t notice any sounds of an attack," said Fatemeh, a Tehran resident.
"Everything is great, and all is well. All the kids went to school today. This morning, everything is wonderful, and there is a very positive atmosphere in the community, contrary to what we are seeing on social media. We are in the center of Tehran, and everything is going as usual, with people going about their daily routines," said Mehran, another resident.
"I use the metro, and everything is normal there. Also, at the university where I am, everything is normal. Everything is usual, and the shops are open," said Alireza, a third resident.
Tensions between Israel and Iran intensified following the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.