Consider This from NPR For Iranian-Americans, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran evokes complex emotions
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Mar 15, 2026 Nick Mafi, Iranian-American writer and essayist, reflects on diaspora identity and the emotional toll of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. He recalls initial hope after reports about Iran’s leader, then describes how that hope shifted into fear as the conflict dragged on. He discusses family history, Noruz amid war, and the urgency of sharing Iranian-American stories.
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Exile Shaped Diaspora Identity
- Iranian-American identity was structured around the permanence of the Iranian regime and exile became a defining framework.
- Nick Mafi describes vertigo when that permanence was disrupted after Ayatollah Khamenei's death, making the possibility of return disorienting and unprecedented.
Hope For An End To Violence And Preservation Of Culture
- Mafi's primary hope is an immediate end to the bombing and killing, followed by a hope that Iran's warm culture survives the conflict.
- He references Anthony Bourdain's observation of Iranian hospitality to illustrate the everyday Iran he wants preserved.
Growing Up With A Prime Minister Great Uncle
- As a child in Ohio Nick Mafi learned his great uncle had been Iran's prime minister and later shared that story at school to puzzled classmates.
- He recounts his grandfather describing historic feats like listening to Lenin and orchestrating a coup, contrasting with second-grade classroom questions.