It's another reason for my anonymity in writing this piece – I also worry about criticising the US publicly should I want to travel there again at any point. For my generation – in Iran, the UK and the US – the possibility of war has loomed large since the 2000s. Imagine a world where we no longer had to live this threat, moderate what we say and where we say it, and could live our lives without fear of being denied access to a country on either side of the conflict.