Iranian diaspora marks Nowruz with heavy hearts as war cuts contact with loved ones

PARIS (AP) — When Iran erupted in nationwide protests at the end of 2025, Shayan Ghadimi’s mother returned to the country from Paris to see the uprising for herself.

Her absence — and the struggle to stay in touch through the bloody crackdown that followed and now the Iran war — hang over the family. Like many Iranians outside the country, they will mark the normally festive Persian new year, known as Nowruz, with heavy hearts — or not at all.

Ghadimi’s 70-year-old mother had watched the early protests on TV.