Quoting my friend Cristina Breshears: There is something deeply human, even heroic, about refusing objectification.
It’s one thing to bomb “infrastructure.” It’s another to bomb a bridge filled with people who have chosen to stand there, together, refusing to let their lives be reduced to targets. When people gather, when they stand on a bridge shoulder to shoulder, they collapse that distance. They reinsert the flesh and blood body into the equation. They make it impossible, or at least much harder, to pretend that destruction is clean or contained.
Bombing bridges and power plants kills people. And the Iranian people are making that plain. It is the difference between abstraction and embodiment. A human chain makes the cost visible. It makes distance impossible.
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| Residents gather in front of a coal-fired power plant in Kazerun, Iran, forming a 'human chain'. Photo by Fars News Agency |
Civilians guard infrastructure ahead of U.S. deadline to avoid strikes
Ahead of the final deadline for the agreement proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Iranian civilians gathered at power plants and bridges to form a "human chain," according to Iranian local media.
This followed President Trump’s warning that the U.S. would completely destroy power plants and bridges if negotiations with Iran failed, prompting Iranian authorities to urge citizens to form human chains to resist potential strikes.
On the 7th (local time), Iranian media outlets such as Fars News Agency and Tasnim News Agency reported that citizens had gathered at key locations, including the thermal power plant in Tabriz (northwest Iran), Bisotun in Kermanshah Province (west), Mazandaran (north), and the Shahid Rajaei Thermal Power Plant—the largest in Iran—located in Qazvin Province (northwest). They were reportedly guarding the facilities.
Photos and videos showed Iranian citizens holding national flags and signs reading, "Attacking power facilities is a war crime," forming a ring around the sites. Some were seen holding hands.
Fars News Agency also reported residents gathering in front of a thermal power plant in Kazerun, southern Iran. The footage showed adults and children standing around the facility. The agency stated, "(They) gathered in front of the power plant to condemn attacks on public infrastructure, defining them as clear war crimes."
In addition to power plants, hundreds formed human chains at bridges in Dehloran and Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province (southwest Iran).
Earlier, President Trump had declared that if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened by 8 p.m. on the 7th (U.S. Eastern Time), the U.S. would bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges.
In response, Ali Reza Rahimi, Iran’s Minister of Youth and Sports, called via state media on the 6th, "I invite all our youth, athletes, artists, students, university students, and professors. Regardless of belief or political inclination, please gather at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the 7th, around power plants, which are our national assets and the future of Iran and its youth." He described it as a "human chain of Iranian youth for a bright tomorrow," adding, "This will be a sign of the youth’s dedication to protecting Iran’s infrastructure and building a bright future."
With less than a day remaining before the negotiation deadline, reports emerged that bridges and railways across Iran were under airstrikes. Iranian Mehr News Agency cited the deputy governor of Isfahan Province on the 7th, stating, "The U.S. and Israel attacked the Yahyaabad Railway Bridge in Kushan, killing 2 civilians and injuring 3."
A projectile also hit the Tabriz-Tehran Highway, located 90 km north of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan Province, halting traffic. Additionally, bridges on the outskirts of Golpayegan (central Iran), railways in Qazvin (north), and Karaj (west of Tehran) were reportedly bombed. Power outages occurred in parts of Karaj and Pardis due to airstrikes, and all railway operations were suspended in Mashhad (northeast) following air raid warnings.
Please go here for the original article: https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2026/04/08/W6GHV5LA7ZD7JHF4SHP6DRUTSI/
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