The 40th night of the Lebanon war, Wednesday, news this afternoon and the killing of more than three hundred Lebanese civilians by Israeli planes, has once again destroyed all hope for peace in the region. Everyone here feels that the West has betrayed them as usual. In my entire life, I have never heard of a peace agreement between Westerners and the people of the Middle East where the Western side has truly followed its provisions. Last night, Trump’s text stated that Iran’s ten-point text was the basis for negotiations, but now the White House spokesman announced that that text has been thrown in the trash. I think the White House leaders talk first and think later, which is why they don’t understand the consequences of their decisions and don’t take responsibility for them. Now at around eleven o’clock at night, I see a procession of people on the street, carrying a large number of Lebanese and Hezbollah flags with them as a sign of solidarity with the victims of today’s war in this country and chanting slogans. Tonight is much busier than other nights. People are more aware of the danger of the enemy’s deceit.  Many say that a maternity hospital full of new mothers, newborns, and medical staff in Lebanon was completely destroyed by today’s Israeli bombing. This new crime deeply disturbs me. What if this crime had happened in the West? After forty days of the crime of killing children in Minab, have you ever seen the US government make the slightest apology or announce the results of the investigation for this crime and all the lies it has told so far? Just now, anti-aircraft guns started shooting above us in Tehran’s Revolution Square. But people here were just chanting. My grandchildren, with all their colds and lack of sleep, came back to the painting booth last night to help their mother. Frankly, with all my peace-loving nature, I don’t enjoy a false ceasefire in which I am like a frog in a pot of water slowly boiling on a low gas stove.  It has been about fifty years since an Iranian in America has committed the slightest act of terrorism, but in all these years our people have been called terrorists while their own military commanders have been playing basketball with Golani in Washington. So far, more than sixteen million people have registered to fight the US and Israel. And this list is only of men, not women. Because in Iran, only men go to the military. I wish many in the West knew that sixty percent of our university students are women. The religiousness of women is not a reason for them to stay home. But the Western propagandists consider us and the Taliban to be the same. I just heard that Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and the potential negotiating party, has officially announced the ceasefire violation by ENRICA and said that he will not go to Pakistan for negotiations. The people’s distrust of the Trump gang is so great on these streets that no one is at all frightened by hearing this news.  Tomorrow, the 40th anniversary of the Iranian leader’s death will be celebrated on the streets of Iran from morning to night. But now I’m waiting for the grandchildren to get tired of drawing and playing with other children so that we can return home later in case the war starts again tonight and the bombings start again. According to my experience, as I said before, it’s better for them to be so tired that at least in deep sleep they are less afraid of the sound of explosions.

Peace H.A.