Iranians speak of their fears and hopes as the conflict with Israel intensifies

Australia Broadcast Center

4 hours ago

Traffic was gridlocked for hundreds of kilometres heading out of Tehran before Israel and Donald Trump told people to leave Iran's capital.
People were desperate and scared.
"It's complete chaos. There's no safe place left in Iran right now," Tehran local Pari said.
"We first tried heading north, but the roads were completely jammed. People were out of their cars, drinking tea, smoking. It was just gridlock — about 180 to 200 kilometres of traffic stuck across four lanes."
Many Iranians have tried to move to the country's north for safety, but Pari was not sure if that would work.
"The bread that costs 500 tomans ($0.018) here, it's 15,000 tomans ($0.55) over there and that was on the first day. Just imagine what it's like now … there'd be nothing left to buy, and there's no room left at all to stay," she said.
The traffic forced Pari to return home to Tehran on Monday night, but she vowed to try again on Tuesday despite the internet being down and a limit of 20 litres of petrol being imposed per customer.
"We're gathering some essential items, identification documents, clothes, bedding, so wherever we go, we at least have the minimum," she said.
The usually bustling city she and so many others were trying to leave became eerily quiet after Israel started attacking it.
The Grand Bazaar was shuttered, shops were closed and the streets were left almost empty.
Many of the city's 9.5 million residents have either left the city or taken shelter indoors.
Locals remained in a state of shock.
Tehran resident Hanna, who like others who spoke to the ABC did not want her full name published for fear of reprisal from Iranian authorities, recounted being at home when the Israeli bombs started falling last week.
"I heard the blasts around 3am," she said.
"At first, I thought it was fireworks. Then my phone started ringing, friends panicking, sending pictures of fires and missile strikes. We were all up until 6 or 7 in the morning, too anxious to sleep.
Mohammad, who lives in the western city of Ahvaz near the border with Iraq, said the aftermath of Israel's attack last week was unlike anything he had seen before.
"The strikes were intense. Windows shook across the city," he said.
"There's real worry now."
The Israeli strikes that shook Iran, targeting multiple military and intelligence facilities across the country, have killed at least 244 people and injured 1,200, including many civilians, according to Iranian authorities.
"[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu had claimed they stood with the Iranian people and only targeted military facilities. But in the early hours of the attack, they struck residential buildings," Ali, a resident of Iran's western Khuzestan province, said on Monday.
"Many of those killed were civilians, scientists, respected professors, people who had risen in their fields.
"They were at home, asleep with their families, when the buildings were hit. Entire families were wiped out. Among the dead were women and children."
But Israel's assault has also ignited a cautious hope among some Iranians.
They feel the Islamic Republic's grip on power could be weakening — and that the collapse of the regime might be near.
News media is controlled by the government and internet has been slowed, or completely shut down in some parts of the country, since the conflict with Israel broke out.
In Tehran, Mehdi said the mood was "a mix of fear and joy".
"Yes, some fear losing their jobs. Some packed their bags. But deep down, there's happiness, especially after hearing those 20 senior commanders were killed," he said.
"The top figures were struck in their penthouses. There's real joy in the poorest neighbourhoods.
"For 40 years, they've held us hostage. They stole our youth, our lives," he said.
"During the Mahsa Amini protests, and those killed in Iraq and in Syria — so many children were killed. So many young people in Iran were killed."
Speaking from the city of Isfahan in central Iran, Hassan offered a colder assessment on Sunday.
"Life goes on. The fruit shops are open. But people now understand something important — this regime's drum was loud but hollow," he said.
"They crushed protesters with guns and batons, but now we see their power was only ever used against defenceless Iranians. When it comes to a real threat, they collapse."
Israel has launched strikes against population centres across Iran — from Tehran in the north to Shiraz in the south-west.
In retaliation, Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones toward Israel that have killed 24 people.
For Ali, the Islamic Republic's military response was justified.
"Iran wasn't just watching. It responded carefully and intelligently. No one wants war, but when Israel crosses the line of humanity, silence is betrayal," he said.
"We're not celebrating war. We're talking about the right to defend our homes."
Yet, as the conflict escalates, many Iranians are distancing themselves from the actions of the regime.
Hassan said the Iranian government had "been at war with its own people for decades".
"Now it needs this cross-border missile show just to try and rally some part of the population behind it," he said.
"I see no reason why my country, which doesn't share a single inch of border with Israel, should be at war with them. There is simply no reason."
US President Donald Trump posted on social media on Tuesday, local time, that the US knew where Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was.
"He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers," Mr Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
"Our patience is wearing thin."
He also called for an "unconditional surrender".
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that the US "may" take further action against Iran, but added it was a matter for Mr Trump to decide.
Iranians were already resigned to fear and uncertainty before the latest updates from Washington DC.
"It's still war and we're the ones who suffer," Hanna said.
"It doesn't matter who wins. It's always the ordinary people who pay the high price through panic and pain."
Others hoped the pain would lead to great change.
"This conflict feels different from anything in the past 40 years," Mehdi said.
"It feels like the beginning of the end. But we worry about the cost. We want the regime to fall, but not through war.
"We want liberation, not destruction."
As the world waits to see what happens next, Hassan said he would not mourn if the regime fell.
"This is not our war, but maybe, just maybe, it will end our captivity," he said.
Translation assistance from Kaveh Akbari.