Residents in Tehran remain steadfast after Israeli strikes, resume normal routines

Life in Tehran continued seemingly unaffected by Israel's unprecedented air strikes on Saturday, which targeted military sites in and around the city and killed four soldiers, reported a local resident.

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".

Aynur Sena Cabuk, a resident of Tehran, visited one of the city's busiest neighborhoods and observed that daily life remained largely unaffected.

"I'm in the most famous and the most crowded, the capital's Enqelab Square, right now. First of all, there is no panic atmosphere in Tehran. In fact, most Iranians say they heard about the attack in the morning. Life is going on normally in the capital at the moment. People are going to work. Students are going to school. Stores are open. People are shopping. As you can see, everything is normal in Tehran streets," said Cabuk.

Tensions between Israel and Iran intensified following the eruption of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.

Residents in Tehran remain steadfast after Israeli strikes, resume normal routines

The number of China-Europe freight train trips operated by Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, topped 4,000 in the first three quarters of 2024, surpassing one fourth of the country's total.

In the first three quarters of the year, China-Europe freight train trips totaled 14,689, with the number of routes rising to 93.

Xi'an sent 4,041 China-Europe freight train trips in the first nine months of this year, up 33.4 percent year on year.

Zhou Junxi, the yardmaster of the port station, organized the first China-Europe freight train of Shaanxi in the autumn of 2013.

"We started the first freight train in 2013, and it took seven years for us to operate 4,000 train trips. But this year, we have completed 4,000 trips over only nine months," said Zhou.

Xi'an is also the home port for the Chine-Europe train service line with the highest frequencies nationwide. The freight trains, set out from Xi'an and bound for Duisburg in Germany, which used to operate two departures and one return per week, now have four departures and three returns, making it the most densely operated full-route timetable service.

Xi'an operates over 4,000 China-Europe train trips in Jan-Sept period