A broken economy and an emboldened regime: Iranians abandoned to endure fallout from war | Iran

As Donald Trump this week wavered between threatening new military action against Iran and predictions that a permanent ceasefire agreement was imminent, many Iranians were exhausted and gripped by uncertainty.

Despite the partial lifting of the internet blackout that began with the start of the war on February 28, fears that repression within the country will worsen have also increased pessimism about the future among some people the Guardian spoke to.

Speaking by phone from Tehran last weekend, Saeed, who participated in major protests against the regime earlier this year and, like others, asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons, said he feared the worst possible outcome could come now.

“I predicted long ago that this would be the worst outcome if the US attacked with the promise of coming to our rescue and leaving us without a definitive plan, like the current ceasefire. The economy is worse than it was on December 28th. [when the protests began] and we are left with an emboldened regime, with numerous raids, arrests and executions every day. “We are in a really terrible situation,” he said.

According to Saeed, the aftermath has deepened not only political fears but also divisions within families, revealing intergenerational fault lines in how the crisis is understood.

He described sharp disagreements among friends and relatives when asked whether his views were widely shared. “Some of the older members of my family are [young protesters] “They are brainwashed and have brought shame to the country,” he said. “They believe everything said on state television and are unaware that the regime is executing young people just for being out to protest. “They think they are spies.”

Anti-government protests that began in December and spread across the country were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces, according to rights groups. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), thousands of people were reportedly killed, more than 50,000 people were arrested, and at least 226 people were detained. was executed This year, according to the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO).

Meanwhile, the regime has reportedly set up military training booths in the capital to teach civilians how to use Kalashnikovs and is trying to prepare civilians to take up arms in case the war restarts. Rallies held by pro-government crowds in military jeeps equipped with machine guns flooded social media.

Elnaz, a human rights activist living in the capital, said: “Not everyone supports the system or is interested in the war. The use of children and young people in checkpoint inspections, as well as the televising of weapons training, caused widespread concern. Many child rights activists protested, arguing that war should not be normalized.”

Images He added that showing children holding machine guns worried many Iranians. “The sightings of children and young people holding machine guns broadcast by state television have raised serious concerns.”

Under the shadow of arrests and raids, others say their initial views on foreign intervention have changed, but fears of what might happen next increasingly dominate their thinking.

Amir, a business owner from Mashhad, said he once desperately hoped for US intervention, believing that external pressure could bring political change. But after witnessing a deteriorating economy and what he describes as a deteriorating human rights situation, he now finds himself questioning whether the cost was too high.

“I feel humiliated,” he said. “This is not a ceasefire. This is an endless auction of our lives and blood between the United States and the Islamic Republic.”

Trump’s “back to the stone age” comments about the bombing of Iran last month continued to haunt him. “It was truly insulting to ‘take us back to the stone age’ and then watch him treat this war like it was a business deal, changing his words every two minutes,” he added.

“On the other hand, the regime seems to have an infinitely long noose that keeps getting tighter. I don’t really know how to express how we feel.”

‘Economic hell’

In addition to the loss of livelihoods caused by the authorities’ nearly 90-day internet outage, the skyrocketing prices of food and essential medicines have left many people struggling to meet even basic needs.

Noor, 39, a café owner from Tehran, said his business had not collapsed but he feared the fragile situation meant “the worst is yet to come”.

“It will take years to overcome the massacre in January and the emotional and economic devastation caused by the war,” he said. “Even if this ceasefire continues, within a few months we will enter such an economic hell that people will return to the streets out of despair.”

When partial connectivity was restored this week, many who had not yet fully grasped the extent of the devastation inflicted by the January protests and war on both the economy and civilian infrastructure were faced with a difficult reality.

Among the videos widely shared among Iranian accounts is one on Instagram about Tehran’s Hamed Mirzaei, who reportedly lost 12 members of his family during the war. The newlywed told the local press that he lost his parents, wife, cousins, children and brother-in-law in the attack on his house. HE published videos He is seen standing in front of his house and is now buried under rubble.

Other videos It showed similar scenes of destroyed shops, houses and music schools. Tehran-based musician Ro, 42, told the Guardian he was devastated after seeing images of damaged music schools and civilian areas.

“Which country gained freedom through military occupation? Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria?” he asked. “As an Iranian musician, I condemn the US and Israeli military aggression against my country. This attack was carried out under the false pretense of saving the Iranian people and bringing democracy, but it killed many of my citizens and destroyed vital infrastructure.

“They bombed schools, hospitals, research centers, universities, petrochemical plants and residences. They furthered these crises by deepening poverty, inflation, unemployment and medicine shortages.”

Another widely shared video The program for the last two days includes Hamidreza Afarideh, one of the founders of a music academy in East Tehran. It sits amid the rubble of what was once a safe haven for children and adults learning to play musical instruments, after it was destroyed in an attack on a reported nearby military base.

Attacks on such infrastructures left many people unemployed, including staff at Afarideh’s music school, deepening the country’s economic turmoil.

With growing fears about what a fragile ceasefire could ultimately mean for life in Iran, many said their attention had shifted to survival.

Business owner Amir said, “We are just trying to survive right now. No one can fight on an empty stomach.”