Grief and scepticism: Iranians ask what comes after the bombs stop
US President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday imposing a ceasefire on Israel and Iran, potentially ending what he is calling the "12-day war", has brought a measure of relief to some Iranians, but left others wondering if realities on the ground in the Islamic Republic have changed.
'Is it really over? Or will they strike again?' Mina, a 36-year-old sales and marketing consultant, wonders, unsure about whether to feel happy or exercise caution.
'I want to believe it's real. I want the war to be over. So many innocent people died. So many lives were destroyed. I just hope the bombings are finally done,' she told Middle East Eye.
It didn't help that after Trump's announcement, both sides briefly continued exchanging strikes, forcing many to doubt that the ceasefire would hold.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has since signalled that the conflict was over, provided Israel doesn't violate the ceasefire, and called Iran's military actions a 'great victory'. Iran's Supreme National Security Council put out a statement that seemed to suggest Iran would go along with the ceasefire.
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Israel has also said it would honour a ceasefire provided Iran doesn't violate it.
Many Iranians are now more sceptical than ever about Israel and the US. Even those who oppose the Iranian government say they have lost all trust in the West's promises.
'Even American media admitted they fooled us, made us think everything was fine, so they could surprise us with an attack. How do we know they won't do it again?' Mohsen, 39, a real estate agent, told MEE.
Iran's former ambassador to Croatia, Parviz Esmaeili, echoed that concern in a post on social media.
'Deception and psychological warfare are still central parts of Israel and the US operations against us,' he wrote. 'We need to be ready for bigger tricks.'
The doubt and fear, however, are preferable to the reality of an active war.
Ladan, 28, who lives in the Aghdasiyeh neighbourhood in northern Tehran, recalls the terror of the strikes by Israel on 23 June. 'Last night was the scariest night of my life,' she says.
'The number of Israeli fighter jets was terrifying. They filled the entire sky over Tehran. I had never seen anything like it in my life,' she continued.
'We could see death so clearly. The explosions kept getting closer. It felt like we were next.'
'Will this ceasefire bring my mom back?'
The tragic reality for many Iranians is that the ceasefire feels irrelevant after having already lost loved ones. For them, no agreement can bring those people back.
Siavash, 41, lost his mother to an Israeli air strike. 'Will this ceasefire bring my mom back?' he asks.
'She went to the local market to buy fruit. She put her groceries in the car, and right then, an Israeli fighter jet bombed a nearby apartment. The shrapnel hit her car, and she was killed instantly.'
'All that noise about missile power and security, it turned out to be mostly bluff'
- Abbas, shop owner in Tehran
Siavash complains that the civilian toll of the war has been completely neglected and that the media only talks about military losses.
'Do they even know how many women and children were killed in the Israeli attacks?'
On 24 June, Iran's health minister, Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi, said that Israeli air strikes had killed 606 people, and that 95 percent of those deaths happened while people were trapped under rubble. He didn't give an exact number of civilian casualties.
Now, many in Iran are waiting to see how the government proceeds after the war. Public anger at the Islamic Republic has been rising in recent years, and some hoped this war might be a turning point - maybe an opportunity for the government to show greater care towards its people instead of trying to control them through fear.
'The government should realise it has no asset greater than the people,' Abbas, 67, who owns a carpet shop in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, said.
'All that noise about missile power and security - it turned out to be mostly bluff. Real strength comes from your people. When they trust you and believe in you, you can do amazing things. But right now, I don't see that trust.'
He pauses, then adds, 'I hope they learn from this painful experience. If they don't change the way they rule, they'll just keep repeating the same old mistakes. It's time they made peace with their people.'
- Only first names were used for safety reasons
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