This breaking episode of Love Anyway is a bit different than other time-sensitive episodes we’ve shared. While we want to give you the latest, clearest information on what’s happening between Iran, Iraq, and the US, we also want to take you behind the scenes of a conversation several of us had with our Preemptive Love colleague, and friend, Ihsan Ibraheem.

As we hear in this episode, Ihsan has lived his whole life in Iraq. And he’s lived through what seems like countless wars.

Details to Know:

• Early in the morning of January 8 local time, Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing US troops.
• At the time of this recording, there are no known casualties.
• The attack was in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s top military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike on January 3, near the Baghdad airport.
• In an address on January 8, US President Trump threatened to impose new sanctions on Iran, but also suggested the current crisis is winding down.

This episode features audio from a conversation several members of our team had with Ihsan Ibrahim, minutes before President Trump’s address. Ihsan has been part of the Preemptive Love team in Iraq for almost four years.

Ihsan  is an Iraqi, a father, a husband, a neighbor, a friend—and to many of us, an essential guide to making sense of the events of the last several days. In this epsiode, Ihsan shares what it was like to wake up to the news of Iranian missiles hitting his country.

Learn more.