Voices From Iran: Between Hope and Fear After War with Israel
- Damian Pachter
- Jun 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 29
Disclaimer: The names in this article have been altered to keep the sources’ safety.
During the first weekend of the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, locals and former residents of Iran shared their thoughts about the current situation in the country.
While the regime is trying to sell a narrative of victory following the humiliation suffered on the first day of the war, indications of shortages in food, significant inflation and banking restrictions emerged during the past week.
“Our government officials who were constantly talking about subversion and war did not take measures to confront the crisis”, a resident from the capital of Tehran described under condition of anonymity before the Mideast Journal.
“There is no alert system and no shelters have been built”, the source added and detailed that there are also limitations on money withdrawal from ATM’s.
“I think for larger families, there are more problems, like bread which has been rationed,” the citizen unveiled.
‘Regime is very weak’
A permanent tension defined the last days and the possibility of regime change became palpable.
Even now, after the fragile ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump and implemented on June 20, many are still hoping for an internal revolt that might topple the regime led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Among the Iranians exiled abroad, it was their main wish since 1979, the year when the Islamic Revolution came to power. They believe the joint Israeli-American operation would be an opportunity that could never return to change history.
Babak Taghvaee is an author and researcher specialized in aviation. He was born in Tehran and later escaped to Europe, where he is currently based.
“It is at the same time pleasant for us Iranians and also at the same time painful”, Mr. Taghvaee says when asked about “Operation Rising Lion.”
“But we don't, we don't see the IDF, Mossad, or the Israeli government responsible for that pain,” he says.
“The pain is because some of the most critical and important infrastructures of the country are being damaged and destroyed. Even after the fall of the Iranian regime, it will cost billions of US dollars to restore them and years to make them functional again,” Taghvaee explained.
“However, it's also pleasant because Israel carefully and professionally eliminated some of the key military officials of the regime, including those responsible for the pain and misery of many Iranians, those responsible for the killing of protesters, for imprisonment, for arrests and persecution of the freedom-loving people of Iran,” he emphasized.
Asked about the future of his country, Taghvaee was careful and defined the situation as unclear. “The regime is very weak and it can collapse easily. But if authorities are going to be kept alive, they can commit a massacre,” he warned.
Internet shutdowns
One of the most complicated aspects regarding the domestic situation in Iran is the regime's policy of isolation that prevents its own people from any information coming from the outside world.
For this purpose, since June 13, they shutdown the internet access in a risky attempt of damage control and in parallel, reinforced and deployed the Basij forces across the country, a repressive paramilitary unit within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in charge of “maintaining the order” and suppress any attempt of disobedience.
Elahe was born and raised in Iran but left the country about a decade ago and is currently living abroad. Her entire family remains there, and during a conversation with the Mideast Journal, she shed some light on the darkness that is happening currently in Tehran.
“Residents abroad can barely communicate with their relatives, and when they do, it’s just for a few minutes. It is heartbreaking for me not being able to send a simple text message and ask my mother how she’s doing,” she described.Elahe also narrated that most of the communications are being tapped by the local security forces and often used as a method of treating the citizens, especially those who have relatives abroad.
“If you are not careful, then the regime will call you, follow up and admit they are tracking you and they will tell you that you got a phone call overseas.”
For now, the hostilities are over and the Trump administration rejected the idea of regime change in Iran. The next weeks will be crucial for the survival of the regime.
“We achieved a historic victory,” claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night (June 24) and reaffirmed about the future of the nuclear program that “if someone in Iran tries to restore that program, we will act with the same determination.”
Damian Pachter is an Argentine-Israeli journalist based in Berlin. He worked as Chief World editor for Israel Hayom daily and special correspondent for Haaretz newspaper before that. He also anchored the Spanish spoken TV show Ñews24 on i24NEWS and served as its senior editor. Previously, Pachter collaborated with The Associated Press in Buenos Aires, Argentina.