EMILY KWONG, HOST:
It was after sunrise when the U.S. and Israel began their attack on Iran, and outbound roads became heavily congested with traffic as people tried to flee to safety and communicate with loved ones and with the outside world.
HODA PARVIN: Seventy, 80 people contacted me from inside Iran that they either had access to a Starlink or some spotty sort of internet.
KWONG: That's Iranian activist Hoda Parvin (ph), and she shared with us some of the messages she's been receiving from Iranians. We have not independently verified their stories, and we are not naming these individuals as many fear retaliation. This woman says she was in Tehran when the strikes began.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Through interpreter) See, today, I walked from northern Tehran to the center of the city, exactly at the moment when they started their attack at 9:30 in the morning.
KWONG: And this 39-year-old, who asked we identify her by her initials S-A, said she was in a gym when she heard screaming and shouting.
S A: (Through interpreter) We quickly exited the club. Traffic was intense. Like, a distance that would take 15 minutes took us 2 1/2, 3 hours before we could reach our homes.
KWONG: As she tried to get home, she said she saw people banging on their steering wheels and blasting music.
S A: (Through interpreter) I had to leave my car at the side of the road somewhere and walk part of the distance back home until the streets are cleared and I can go back and get my car and bring it into the parking lot.
KWONG: At home, she had made some preparations in case any attack shut down essential services.
S A: (Through interpreter) All the instructions that were given to us - like, I don't know, to tape up our windows, to stock up on water, prepare food rations, pack an emergency bag - we've done all those things, and I hope that everyone has done those things because now we're waiting to hear when we can go back into the streets.
KWONG: Iranian state TV reported that at least 200 people were killed by Saturday's airstrikes. But amid that, this woman who we are identifying with her initials, E-S, says she was glad the U.S. is trying to oust her country's government.
E S: We begged for it. We begged the U.S. to come and support us. The rest is on our shoulder to make sure we deliver this safely later. Of course, we will have some casualties, loved ones, maybe. It will be devastating, of course, as it was two months ago.
KWONG: Some people in Iran who are against the regime say the mood in their country is different than it was last summer, the last time Israel and the U.S. struck Iran. The unidentified woman from Tehran we heard from earlier saw the strikes.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Through interpreter) I'm comparing this to the Twelve-Day war. That Twelve-Day war, I myself was afraid. My mother was afraid. But now everyone is happy. We're waiting for the main news. We're just waiting for this hell to be over.
KWONG: And she will keep waiting, as all Iranians are, for what's to come in the days ahead.
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