‘Anything but normal’: Uncertainty as Iranians try to get by amid US war
Tehran, Iran – Months into a war with the United States and after another flareup of fighting with Israel, daily conversations in Iran have been dominated by conflict and economic survival. Many residents of the capital, Tehran, went to work over the past two days with war and p
Tehran, Iran – Months into a war with the United States and after another flareup of fighting with Israel, daily conversations in Iran have been dominated by conflict and economic survival.
Many residents of the capital, Tehran, went to work over the past two days with war and peace on their minds, as US President Donald Trump continued to portray an understanding as being within reach despite an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel.
A 33-year-old man who works at an office in western Tehran said people were alert and checking their phones but did not all rush out after hearing a loud bang in the distance before noon on Monday, which was followed by at least two more in the early hours of the morning.
“You get used to it at some level and eventually keep going about work and conversations like everything is normal, but the truth is that this is anything but normal,” he told Al Jazeera, asking to remain anonymous.
The Israeli military struck Tehran and other cities, as well as a petrochemical complex in the western city of Bandar-e Mahshahr, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles at Israel overnight in retaliation for an attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, known as Dahiyeh.
Israeli leaders said they were paving the way for future strikes, and Iran warned of harsher attacks if Lebanon is not spared, but the missile launches have stopped for now. This is while Iran and the US exchanged night-time fire for more than a week before the strikes, and Washington continues to impose a blockade that has further squeezed Iran’s embattled economy.
Late on Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, saying that his country “must respond” to the alleged attack.
In a small cafe in central Tehran, a young woman who works as a digital marketer said she does not believe that the Islamic Republic and the US could reach a long-term resolution, which means more uncertainty about the future.
