As President Donald Trump prepared to address the nation Wednesday evening on the escalating U.S. war with Iran, two Iowa women — one born under Iran’s regime and another with a son deployed to the conflict — say the stakes are deeply personal, defined by both hope for change and fear of what comes next.
Mae Dehghanian, center, an Iranian Ph.D. student at Iowa State University, and April Conway, right, an Iowa mother of a deployed U.S. service member, pose for a photo with Reps. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, and Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, on the floor of the Iowa House chamber Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Mae Dehghanian, left, an Iranian Ph.D. student at Iowa State University, speak with Reps. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, and Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, on the Iowa House floor on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Transfer vans containing the remains of six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers — including Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, formerly of West Des Moines — arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7, 2026. The reservists were killed March 1 in a drone strike on a command center in Kuwai.
Mae Dehghanian, center, an Iranian Ph.D. student at Iowa State University, and April Conway, right, an Iowa mother of a deployed U.S. service member, pose for a photo with Reps. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, and Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, on the floor of the Iowa House chamber Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Mae Dehghanian, left, an Iranian Ph.D. student at Iowa State University, speak with Reps. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, and Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, on the Iowa House floor on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Transfer vans containing the remains of six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers — including Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, formerly of West Des Moines — arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7, 2026. The reservists were killed March 1 in a drone strike on a command center in Kuwai.
