Iran Schools Stay Open Amid Nuclear-Strike Fears — SkimNews
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- Iran's Education Ministry said schools were open nationwide, with spokesman Ali Farhadi urging parents to ignore closure rumors and saying decisions would be coordinated with security authorities; some private schools sent parents instructions for renewed war or another emergency.
- Iranian state television broadcast protective guidance on November 2, telling people to remain in a shelter for at least 24 hours in a nuclear-strike emergency.
- Pickaxe Mountain, an underground bunker about 220 kilometers south of Tehran near Natanz, became the focus of nuclear-attack fears; Iran's government denies nuclear-program work there, while Trump hinted at attacks without explicitly mentioning nuclear weapons.
- Axios reported on November 5 that the U.S. military was making final preparations for a possible resumption of large-scale strikes against Iran, even as fighting had mostly petered out during the midterm campaign.
- Qatari mediators are trying to persuade Iran and the United States to agree on a draft peace deal intended to prevent another escalation and make way for direct talks in the coming days.
- Hadi Mohammadi wrote on October 31 that Iranian domestic outlets were kept in the dark about negotiations directly affecting daily life, forcing journalists to await Axios, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera and saying that developing their own narratives and doing journalism had become "pointless."
- Hamidreza Azizi of the International Crisis Group said Trump has at least two months before the new Congress takes office; he said Tehran views the midterms as a victory and the regime's resistance contributed to Republican losses, with some in the capital framing the result as revenge for the US-Israeli assassination of senior Iranian leaders.
Why it matters: With schools operating and families seeking safety guidance, Iranian parents and students lack reliable public information even as state television issues a 24-hour shelter advisory and Axios reports preparations for possible renewed large-scale U.S. strikes. That leaves everyday safety decisions dependent on rumors and foreign outlets.
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