TEHRAN – Heavy strikes echoed across Tehran during the first day of Nowruz as Tel Aviv said it had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, a claim that further escalated the conflict and jolted celebrations of the Persian new year across the capital.
The seemingly contradictory official messages underscored a volatile moment: Donald Trump said on March 20, 2026 he was considering “winding down” military operations, while the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said that strikes would “intensify” in the next week.
What officials said
- Tel Aviv said it had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, part of a resource Iran shares with Qatar in the Gulf.
- Donald Trump wrote on social media: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” and said he was considering “winding down” military operations on March 20, 2026, pending consultations with Pentagon and National Security Council advisers.
- Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that strikes would “intensify” in the next week, signalling that Israel would press ahead regardless of any recalibration in Washington.
“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives.”
Officials in Tehran did not immediately confirm the full extent of damage at South Pars but accused Israel of targeting critical infrastructure on a symbolic national holiday. The field underpins a large share of Iran’s gas production and export potential, tying the attack directly to economic management and the state’s ability to fund basic services.
Holiday under fire across the capital
Since 28 February, when the war began, most vendors in Tajrish Bazaar, one of the capital’s liveliest covered markets, had shuttered their shops under air raid warnings and rolling power cuts. But in the days leading up to Nowruz, some of the market’s usual energy had returned, said Ali, a 20-year-old vegetable seller. People arrived to buy flowers, fresh greens and food, as well as colourfully decorated eggs and goldfish, seen as symbols of life and movement during new year celebrations.
Heavy strikes echoed across Tehran during one of the country’s biggest holidays as Tel Aviv said it had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, a move that further escalated the conflict and raised fresh questions over how far the confrontation could spill into Iran’s core energy infrastructure.
Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations. He wrote on social media: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” a phrase US officials have previously used when signalling a transition from active combat to what they describe as a more limited deterrence posture.
But the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said that strikes would “intensify” in the next week, framing the campaign as necessary to degrade Iranian capabilities irrespective of any timetable being discussed in Washington.
Despite the war, some Iranians said they were determined to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian new year’s day. Others felt the moment did not allow for it, pointing to the sound of sirens and the risk of new strikes as midnight approached.
Nowruz – also celebrated across central Asia, parts of the Caucasus and among Kurds throughout the Middle East – marks the spring equinox, and is traditionally seen as a time of renewal, hope, and new beginnings. In Iran, it also structures the state calendar, with ministries, municipal budgets and many public-sector contracts resetting around the new year under the framework of the country’s constitutional order, set out in the Islamic Republic’s basic law.
Since 28 February, when the war began, most vendors in Tajrish Bazaar, one of the capital’s liveliest covered markets, had shuttered their shops. But in the days leading up to Nowruz, some of the market’s usual energy had returned, said Ali, a 20-year-old vegetable seller. People arrived to buy flowers, fresh greens and food, as well as colourfully decorated eggs and goldfish, seen as symbols of life and movement during new year celebrations.
In their home in central Tehran, Darya, a 48-year-old painter, was determined to mark Nowruz despite the war. “We must preserve our traditions, especially in times like these,” she said. “It’s an important part of our culture.”
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Mohammad, 50, celebrates Nowruz with his wife, Darya, 48, and their 25-year-old daughter, Masiha.
She celebrated with her husband, Mohammad, 50, and their daughter Masiha, 25, a computer science graduate. Together, they laid out Haft Seen, the traditional table set with seven symbolic items representing wishes such as renewal or prosperity for the year ahead, arranging it carefully in their living room.
For others, Nowruz came with loss.
An airstrike on the Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company in Shohada Square had destroyed Erfan’s pastry shop, Khooshe, a well known family business founded by his grandfather more than 60 years ago. On Nowruz day, it sat with its windows blown out, shelves and ovens destroyed, and wires and cables hanging from the caved in ceiling.
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Erfan, the owner of one of Tehran’s well-known pastry shops, Khooshe, in the city’s Shohada Square.
“Business had already been bad since the anti-government protests in January,” said Erfan, 28. “Now it’s Nowruz, and all I’m doing is rebuilding my shop,” he said, then paused. “We have always celebrated, but this year, I feel a lack of energy and motivation.”
Standing amid the wreckage, he added that change in Iran was needed, but not through violence and war. “If the US wanted to, they could bring positive change,” he said. “Right now, what matters most is that our government accelerates policy reforms.”
Erfan remembers last year’s Nowruz and the celebrations on Chaharshanbe Suri, the fire festival held on the last Wednesday before the new year. Last spring, Tehran lit up with fireworks, with crowds gathering on the hills overlooking the city. Music filled the streets as people set off firecrackers, released lanterns into the sky, and jumped over small bonfires lit on the roads, a ritual meant to symbolically cast off misfortune before welcoming the new year.
But this year, the streets remained largely empty, with only a handful of people throughout the capital lighting fires.
Still, many families continue to try to maintain a sense of normality despite the war and violence. Parents queued at a reduced number of bakeries and pharmacies that were permitted to reopen under emergency municipal guidelines, even as air raid alerts periodically forced them back indoors.
Hassan, 56, who runs a flower shop in northern Tehran with his daughter Sajedeh, 26, told the Guardian about some of the challenges he faced.
“At the start of the war, leading up to Nowruz, we bought stocks of flowers. 90% of them went bad and had to be thrown out,” he said. “Usually, this is our peak sales period, but right now we’re selling only about 5% of what we usually do. Our regular customers aren’t buying. People aren’t feeling well, so our business suffers too.”
In previous years, Hassan would celebrate his birthday at his shop, which falls on the first day of the new year.
“It was so busy that I’d bring cake for my father and we’d celebrate right outside. It’s a happy memory,” Sajedeh smiled, adding, “Even during war, even if we don’t make sales, we have to keep the shop open. We decided to do so, even on Nowruz. When people pass by and see the flowers, see the open shop, and the signs of life around them, it gives them hope.”
At home with tradition
In their home in central Tehran, Darya, a 48-year-old painter, was determined to mark Nowruz despite the war. “We must preserve our traditions, especially in times like these,” she said. “It’s an important part of our culture.”
She celebrated with her husband, Mohammad, 50, and their daughter Masiha, 25, a computer science graduate. Together, they laid out Haft Seen, arranging seven symbolic items representing wishes such as renewal or prosperity for the year ahead. The family said they had prepared a smaller table than in previous years, in part because relatives from other parts of the city were unable to travel under movement restrictions.
Shops reopen, then count losses
For others, Nowruz came with loss. An airstrike on the Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company in Shohada Square had destroyed Erfan’s pastry shop, Khooshe, a well known family business founded by his grandfather more than 60 years ago. On Nowruz day, it sat with its windows blown out, shelves and ovens destroyed, and wires and cables hanging from the caved in ceiling.
“Business had already been bad since the anti-government protests in January,” said Erfan, 28. “Now it’s Nowruz, and all I’m doing is rebuilding my shop,” he said, then paused. “We have always celebrated, but this year, I feel a lack of energy and motivation.”
Standing amid the wreckage, he added that change in Iran was needed, but not through violence and war. “If the US wanted to, they could bring positive change,” he said. “Right now, what matters most is that our government accelerates policy reforms.”
Erfan remembered last year’s Chaharshanbe Suri, the fire festival held on the last Wednesday before the new year, when fireworks and music drew crowds to the hills overlooking the city. This year, the streets remained largely empty, with only a handful of people throughout the capital lighting fires.
Flowers and resolve in the north
Hassan, 56, who runs a flower shop in northern Tehran with his daughter Sajedeh, 26, described a season turned upside down. “At the start of the war, leading up to Nowruz, we bought stocks of flowers. 90% of them went bad and had to be thrown out,” he said. “Usually, this is our peak sales period, but right now we’re selling only about 5% of what we usually do. Our regular customers aren’t buying. People aren’t feeling well, so our business suffers too.”
“In previous years,” he said, the first day of the new year doubled as a birthday celebration at the shop. “It was so busy that I’d bring cake for my father and we’d celebrate right outside.” Sajedeh added: “Even during war, even if we don’t make sales, we have to keep the shop open. We decided to do so, even on Nowruz. When people pass by and see the flowers, see the open shop, and the signs of life around them, it gives them hope.”
She said the decision to open was also practical: utilities and commercial rents in Tehran are set under state-regulated schedules tied to the new year, and missing the season’s limited income could make it harder for small businesses like hers to meet their obligations.
Why the South Pars claim matters
South Pars is widely described as one of the world’s largest natural gas fields. Tel Aviv’s assertion that it “acted alone” in striking the field places the energy site squarely in a wartime narrative even as Tehran marked the turn of the year, sharpening attention on an asset central to Iran’s economy and to budget planning overseen by the oil and energy ministries.
The field feeds into export projects and domestic power generation that sit at the heart of Iran’s long-term development plans and its disputes with western sanctions regimes, including measures adopted under the European Union’s consolidated restrictive framework on Iran’s energy and financial sectors, set out in Council Regulation (EU) No 961/2010. An acknowledged strike on such a site risks not only immediate disruption but also longer-term questions over investment, insurance and the security guarantees that foreign and regional partners will now seek.
As families in Tehran balanced tradition with caution, the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said that strikes would “intensify” in the next week. For Iranians trying to keep Nowruz traditions alive, the message suggested that the pressure on everyday life – from energy supplies and prices to the survival of small family businesses – is likely to deepen just as the country’s new administrative year begins.
