A6
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Friday, January 10, 2020
On streets of Tehran, relief for now at no wider confl ict
By MEHDI FATTAHI
AND AYA BATRAWY
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran — Ira-
nian newspapers proclaimed
the country’s attack on U.S.
forces in Iraq to be “a dark
night for Americans,” and
Washington’s “fi rst admis-
sion of failure in history.”
On the bustling streets of
Tehran, however, there was
relief Thursday that neither
side appeared primed for
war.
“War is not something
like the ‘Call of Duty’
game,” said Dara Shojaei, a
23-year-old architecture stu-
dent. “It’s not a game you
can play to win. There’s no
winner.”
But with the relief came
some mixed feelings about
how far Iran should go to
avenge the killing of Revolu-
tionary Guard Gen. Qassem
Soleiman, the country’s most
powerful commander who
was slain by a U.S. drone
strike in Baghdad last week.
His death brought an out-
pouring of grief across the
country, and Iran responded
early Wednesday by fi ring a
barrage of ballistic missiles
at two Iraqi military bases
housing American troops.
The dramatic blast of
more than a dozen missiles
caused no casualties at the
two bases, although Ira-
nian state TV claimed that
some 80 U.S. soldiers had
been killed — a death toll
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Pedestrians walk past banners of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who
was killed Jan. 3 in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack at Tajrish square in northern Tehran, Iran. Many
Iranians say they are relieved that neither their country nor the United States appear primed
right now for a more direct military confrontation that could lead to war.
repeated Thursday by a top
Iranian military general.
At the White House,
President Donald Trump
said Iran “appears to be
standing down,” while Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatol-
lah Ali Khamenei described
the missile attack as “a slap”
against America.
Across state media, the
Iranian government is posi-
tioning its retaliatory strike
as a victory.
The hard-line Kahyan
newspaper proclaimed Iran’s
missiles damaged U.S. dig-
nity, while another hard-
line daily, Javan, said it was
America’s fi rst admission of
failure in its history.
The reformist daily Aftab
Yazd led with the headline:
“Iran’s slap makes Trump
withdraw
and
declare
peace.” Another reformist
daily paper, Arman Melli,
called it “A dark night for
Americans.”
Despite Tehran’s claims
that the strikes killed Amer-
icans, Iranians have access
to other sources of infor-
mation. Although social
media sites like Twitter are
blocked, Iranians are able to
access it and others through
virtual private networks, or
VPNs.
Ali Azimi, a 41-year-old
engineer, said Iran’s retalia-
tion was “excessive.”
“We shouldn’t have taken
revenge because they could
have hit and destroyed us,”
he said.
In somewhat mixed mes-
sages Thursday, President
Hassan Rouhani warned of
a “very dangerous response”
if the U.S. makes “another
mistake,” but a senior com-
mander vowed even “harsher
revenge.”
Mohammad
Taghiza-
deh, a 30-year-old resident
of Tehran, described the
Iranian actions as a “good
start.”
“As the supreme leader
said, it was a slap. It was not
satisfying and bigger things
should happen,” he said.
He also echoed a famil-
iar refrain of deep suspicion
toward Washington.
“Trump is trying to boost
the self-confi dence of Amer-
icans, and I think he is lying,”
Taghizadeh said about U.S.
claims of no casualties. He
added that because Trump
is running for re-election, he
“can’t say that we have had
our soldiers killed.”
Gen. Amir Ali Hajiza-
deh, who leads the coun-
try’s aerospace program said
in remarks carried Thurs-
day by the semi-offi cial Tas-
nim news agency that the
goal of “Operation Martyr
Soleimani,” as the retalia-
tory campaign was dubbed,
was not to kill anyone, but to
“strike the enemy’s military
machine.” Still, he repeated
that the U.S. suffered mass
casualties.
Gen. Ali Fadavi, acting
commander of the Revolu-
tionary Guard, was quoted
by Tasnim as describing
the attack as a clear sign of
Iran’s unique strength.
“We stand against the
enemy and we respond,” he
said. “No (other) country
has the capacity to express
its will against the United
States.”
Across the country, ordi-
nary Iranians are bracing for
even more hard times after
Trump vowed to keep up
the maximum pressure cam-
paign on Tehran.
Tensions have been run-
ning high in the Persian
Gulf since Trump pulled
the U.S out of Iran’s nuclear
deal with world powers in
2018 and reimposed pun-
ishing sanctions. The sanc-
tions have made it diffi cult
for Iran to sell its oil interna-
tionally, which has affected
the government’s ability to
pay for subsidies and pushed
prices up.
“Over the past three days,
there was not a single day
that we woke up and didn’t
see negative news,” said
Shabnam Mohtashami, 43,
of Tehran. “The thought of
what could happen again
and what calamities we
might suffer is very scary.”
But she said “domes-
tic (economic) problems put
even more pressure on us
than if a war will happen or
not.”
Iran’s government faced
widespread protests in
November over rising prices,
with many apparently also
outraged by Iran’s foreign
spending on interventions
in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and
other countries while its own
economy falters.
Puerto Rico earthquake aftermath deepens, government seeks help
By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press
SAN JUAN — More than
2,000 people in shelters.
Nearly one million without
power. Hundreds of thou-
sands without water.
The aftermath of a
6.4-magnitude
earth-
quake that killed one per-
son, injured nine others and
severely damaged infra-
structure in Puerto Rico’s
southwest coast is deepening
as the island’s government
says it is overwhelmed.
Many in the affected area
are comparing the situation
to Hurricane Maria, a Cate-
gory 4 storm that hit in Sep-
tember 2017, as hundreds
of families who are unable
to return to their damaged
homes wonder where they’ll
stay in upcoming weeks and
months as hope fades of elec-
tricity being restored soon.
“We have to remain out-
side because everything
inside is destroyed,” said
84-year-old Brunilda Sán-
chez, who has been sleep-
ing outdoors in a govern-
ment-supplied cot in the
southwest coastal town of
Guánica. “We don’t know
how long we’ll have to stay
here.”
U.S. President Donald
Trump declared an emer-
gency in Puerto Rico sev-
eral hours after Tuesday’s
quake hit, a move that frees
up federal funds via the U.S.
Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency for things
ranging from transportation
to medical care to mobile
generators. But some local
offi cials worry the help
won’t arrive soon enough.
“FEMA is a very bureau-
cratic agency and it moves
very slowly. So slowly that
we’re still waiting for federal
funds from Maria,” Daniel
Hernández, director of gen-
eration for Puerto Rico’s
Electric Power Authority,
AP Photo/Carlos Giusti
A sport utility vehicle is crushed under a home that collapsed
after the previous day’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Yauco,
Puerto Rico on Wednesday. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans
remained without water on Wednesday and another half a mil-
lion without power, which also aff ected telecommunications.
told The Associated Press.
He said FEMA has
already pledged to bring
mobile generators to bolster
the company’s biggest plant,
which is located near the
island’s southern coast where
the quake hit and is severely
damaged. Hernández said
it’s unclear how quickly the
plant can be repaired, noting
that a damage assessment is
ongoing.
Complicating efforts to
Worship Community
Redeemer
Episcopal
Church
401 Northgate, Pendleton
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Celebration
of
Celebration
of Worship
Worship
Sundays 10:00 am
Youth:
0-6th
grade
Midweek
Service
Midweek Service
Wednesdays 6:00 pm
Overcomer’s
Outreach
Youth: 0-6th
grade
’
Jr./Sr. High
Pastor Sharon Miller
541-278-8082
www.livingwordcc.com
Sunday Holy Communion 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Holy Communion Noon
Weekly Adults Spiritual Life Group
108 S. Main St.
Pendleton
Sunday at 10:30am
All Are Welcome
Open Hearted...
Open Minded
140 SW 2nd St Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-6937
Worship Service: 11:00AM
Sunday School: 9:45
Pastor Wilbur Clark
501 SW Emigrant Ave. Pendleton OR
Sunday Worship 9am
in the Community Room
541-276-2616
Open Hearts,
Open Minds, Open Doors
Patty Nance, pastor
To share your worship
times call 541-278-2678
Center for Worship & Service
Sunday Worship: 10:40a
Sunday School: 9:30a
Office Ph: 276-5358
9:30 - Sunday School
10:30 - Worship Service
“A come as
You are Church”
Wednesday Bible Study
5:30 Family Fellowship Meal • 6:00 Bible Study
COME AS YOU ARE
www.fccpendleton.org
150 SE Emigrant
(541) 276-3369
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
SUNDAYS
Morning Celebration - 10am
Morning Kids Place - 10am
Evening - 6pm
Adult - Study
Youth - Small Group
Kids - Rangers & Girl’s Ministries
THURSDAYS
1909 SW Athens Ave.,
Pendleton
Come join us for Worship
at 10:45am on Sunday
541-966-8912
Solid Rock
Community Church
Sunday Worship Service
PendletonFaithCenter.
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
www.livingwordcc.com
Service of Worship - 10:00 am
Children’s Sunday School -
10:20 am
Fellowship - 11:00 am
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
Pendleton
Celebrate Recovery - 6pm
Celebration Place - Kids - 6pm
The Landing - Teens - 6pm
WEEKLY
help is needed to support all
affected families,” he said.
The future of hundreds of
schoolchildren in the island’s
southwest region also is
uncertain as offi cials delayed
the start of classes that
was scheduled for Thurs-
day. A three-story school in
Guánica that houses nearly
450 children alone saw its
fi rst two fl oors fl attened by
the quake.
While offi cials say it’s
too early to provide an esti-
mate of total damage, they
say hundreds of homes and
businesses were affected
by Tuesday’s quake and the
5.8-magnitude one that pre-
ceded it on Monday.
Teresa Arroyo, a 47-year-
old resident of the southern
town of Peñuelas, said her
home is heavily damaged
but she plans to stay there.
“Where else am I sup-
posed to go?” she said.
“Everyone is depressed.
This is serious.”
The Salvation Army
Pastor Sharon Miller
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
First United
Methodist
Church
restore power are strong
aftershocks, with more
than 40 earthquakes with
a 3.0-magnitude or higher
occurring since Tuesday’s
quake, according to experts.
Every time it shakes, per-
sonnel have to evacuate and
further damage to the plant’s
infrastructure is feared,
Hernández said.
Meanwhile, those after-
shocks have led to a rise in
the number of people seek-
ing shelter in southwest
Puerto Rico as government
offi cials continue to inspect
homes and public housing
complexes.
Fernando Gil, secre-
tary of Puerto Rico’s Hous-
ing Department, urged peo-
ple to stay with family or in
shelters if they felt unsafe in
their homes as the govern-
ment relocated more than
two dozen people from dam-
aged residences.
“Meanwhile, we will con-
tinue to identify what kind of
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Sunday Worship.........9:00 AM
Bible Study......10:15 AM
Red Lion Hotel
( Oregon Trail Room )
PENDLETON
LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH
Sunday Service: 10am & 6pm
Tuesday Kingdom Seekers: 7pm
Wednesday Bible Study: 7pm
We offer: Sunday School • Sign Language
Interpreters • Nursery • Transportation • & more!
Pastor Dan Satterwhite
541.377.4252
417 NW 21st St. • Pendleton, OR 97801
www.facebook.com/
PendletonLighthouseChurch
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
BAHA’I FAITH
IN PENDLETON
“See ye no strangers, rather see all men
as friends, for love and unity come hard
when ye fix your gaze on otherness.”
– Abdu’l Baha
Please come visit with us at
The Baha’i Center:
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join
Join Us
Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Groups For All Ages
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
AN ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH
1911 SE Court Ave.
541.276.6417 • pendletonfi rst.com
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
Family service 9am Sunday
Community
Presbyterian
Church
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church
1015 SE Court Place
LCMC
Sunday Devotions @ 11:00am
Everyday Devotions, 11am - 1pm
Thursday Seminars on World Religions @ 7pm
Sunday worship at
11:00 AM
Pastor Michael Smith
Everyone invited!
420 Locust St. • Boardman, OR
(541) 276-9360 or visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.com
541-481-6132
or on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pendletonoregonbahais/