Sky and Earth: Tehran under missile attacks
In the course of eight years of sacred defense staged by the Iranian people to curb the enemy aggression, the last phase of Iraqi attacks against Iran’s residential areas occurred between March, 1, 1988 and April, 20, 1988, coinciding with the New Year holidays. This phase, during which the Iraqi attacks concentrated mostly on Tehran and some other major cities lasted 50 days. With a short - term interval between. During this period, 189 missiles were launched into the Iranian territory; of which 133 were aimed at Tehran. Starting from 6:30 p.m. on March 1, 1988 one missile on average, blasted over Tehran in every nine hours. The missile attacks claimed 1727 lives, while leaving behind 8293 injured all over the country. Missile attacks were launched by the enemy as a means of psychological warfare and revenge. This last phase of missile attacks against residential quarters too was a timid and desperate act of retaliation following the inability of the enemy’s impotent army in fighting the forces of Iran. The brave resistance of inhabitants of Tehran, their willingness for cooperation and their preparedness for living under difficult circumstances, demonstrated the extent of the enemy’s miscalculation. The keen sense of steadfastness and empathy prevailing among Tehranies in those days was a symbol of the high morale of the Iranian people in general and of the inhabitants of Tehran in particular. They showed that they would resist , any threat posed against their homeland, even at the cost of losing their lives.
Apart from popular resistance, the missile attacks against Tehran provided an opportunity to experience urban life under particular circumstances as well as the assessment of essential safety requirement of the cities.
The missile attacks against Tehran well proved that such matters as the mobility of relief workers, the strength of urban structures and spaces, the suitability of shelters, the facilities required for storage of indispensable supplies, and the role of urban institutions and organizations under such circumstances, all gave to be fundamentally considered and dealt with.
