The war of Aggression Against Iran Through the Eyes of a Teenager

Amir Arian Hasanlou an Iranian teenager recounts in a letter to his friend Parsa the closure of school classes during the aggressive American-Zionist war against Iran.

Amir Arian Hasanlou, an Iranian teenager, recounts in a letter to his friend Parsa the closure of school classes during the aggressive American-Zionist war against Iran. He describes leaving the city alongside his family and then attending virtual classes—isolated from his classmates and far removed from the joyful, intimate atmosphere of a physical classroom.

Using simple, childlike language, Amir Arian expresses concern over his friend and classmate’s failure to respond to his messages. He shares his aspiration to meet his friend again and play together, highlighting the stark contrast between virtual communications and the experience of being physically present with one another—especially during wartime.

Filled with pure, sincere emotion, the letter written by this student, from Zanjan province of Iran, caught the attention of the jury for the 55th Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People (2026), earning him third place. Furthermore, the President of Iran, Dr. Pezeshkian, specially honored this achievement during the "World Post Day" commemoration, presenting a commemorative plaque to the teenager for securing the bronze award out of nearly 1.5 million entries submitted to the 2026 competition.

In this global contest—which featured participants from 65 countries—Zhi Yuan Si (from China) and Semili Santana (representing Portugal) took first and second place alongside Amir Arian Hasanlou. Additionally, letters submitted by four other teenagers—from Barbados, Benin, Cyprus, and Vietnam—received honorable mentions. With this introduction, let us step for a few brief moments into the world of this Iranian child, to behold the ugly face of war through the eyes of a young boy who really missed his classmates. He is a youth full of a zest for life, whose world—much like that of his fellow Countrymen — one morning fell victim to the rage, greed, and malevolent impulses of war criminals.