The day before I was scheduled to fly back to Singapore from London recently, Israel decided to launch a surprise attack on Iran. Soon, both countries were firing missiles at each other.
Most flights between Europe and Southeast Asia fly over Iran. To be inside a gargantuan Airbus A380 when the sky outside is thick with deadly projectiles and anti-aircraft ordnance was not a comforting thought.
The plane gave a wide berth to most of Iranian airspace, skimming north of the country over the Caspian Sea, but it was only when we saw the back of Iran that I could finally stop worrying.
When Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979, I was still a child and too young to fully understand what was going on, but I still remember very vividly the news blitz surrounding the Iranian Revolution and its immediate aftermath.
I can still see the grim visage of Ayatollah Khomeini glaring balefully from television screens and newspapers. It was also the first time that I came across the word โShiiteโ.