Life Under Fire: Iranians Display Defiance Amidst U.S.-Israeli Campaign
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – More than two weeks into a joint U.S. and Israeli military campaign, life in Iran is marked by fear, resilience, and a simmering anger, according to accounts relayed to NPR from within the country. A near-total telecommunications blackout, initiated following mass anti-government demonstrations last December, has severely restricted communication, yet reports continue to emerge detailing the daily realities of a nation under bombardment.
Iranians are adapting to a new normal: identifying the sound of approaching fighter jets, enduring constant air raid sirens, and navigating a landscape punctuated by the eerie silence following strikes. A network of security checkpoints, manned by Iran’s Basij militia – a paramilitary volunteer group – has sprung up across major cities, aiming to intimidate residents and restrict movement.
“I do not leave the house nearly at all and I know most people, especially women, are like this,” a 49-year-old fashion designer in Tehran wrote on March 17. “Here in my neighborhood, [the Basij] are everywhere. There are multiple teenage kids with guns in my alley.”
The heavy security presence, residents say, has effectively stifled potential dissent, despite calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Iranians to rise up against the country’s theocratic rulers. “I do not know how some talk about protests again,” the fashion designer wrote. “If anyone wants to join a protest, they will not make it even outside this alley.”
Amidst the conflict, preparations for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, are being curtailed. Security forces are reportedly banning gatherings for the holiday, a significant cultural event. A Tehran shopkeeper, 35, expressed his family’s disappointment at being unable to celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, the festival of fire held before the new year.
“I think it is really dangerous. My wife really wanted us to go to a friend who has a garden in the suburbs and celebrate but I do not think it is wise,” he wrote on March 17.
Israel has confirmed targeting Basij checkpoints and temporary security installations. On Tuesday, Iran acknowledged the death of Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij forces, in an Israeli airstrike.
Despite the dangers, a sense of defiance persists. “I am happy [the Basij] are being hit,” the shopkeeper wrote. “They looked scared and kept looking up [at the sky], which I found very entertaining to watch.”
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency has reported at least 1,300 civilian deaths since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on February 28.
One woman in Tehran is maintaining a daily chronicle of life under bombardment, sharing it with NPR. “Many are fleeing and many buildings are empty. I still plan to stay in Tehran and continue my daily life,” she wrote on March 10. “At dusk, after the explosions, silence falls on the streets, and then the cawing of crows reminds me that the sound of life is louder than any other sound.”
She and her friends continue to venture out despite the risk of detention, lamenting the closure of a local café that hosted live rock music. Despite a ban on celebrations, she purchased firecrackers for Chaharshanbe Suri.
“I will celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri and in the final battle, I will burn every single one of these psychopathic murderers,” she wrote on March 16.
As the conflict enters its third week, with strikes continuing and Iran’s leadership resisting calls for negotiation, the woman acknowledges the possibility of further suffering and even death.
“The war was not supposed to be very clean from the first day. That was why we did all we could to avoid it for decades… But they failed us; they failed the world. And now finally the world has accepted they had to fight them. I might get killed too.”
A woman who contacted NPR on March 16 expressed anger at images of Iranians in the diaspora protesting against the strikes, stating, “The Islamic Republic…killed hundreds of thousands of people…and which now wants to have nuclear weapons: we, the Iranian people…know how ridiculous their claim to be peaceful was.”
À ne pas manquer