Torn between fear and relief, Iranians hope for an end to the war

And then they woke up to the news that the attacks had ended and that negotiations for a peace agreement were still continuing.

On Thursday, the situation changed in a matter of hours.

First, the president Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran forcefully and take the island of Kharg, the main Iranian oil export center.

It then abruptly called off the attacks, claiming that progress had been made in peace negotiations.

Between both statements by the president, the Iranian armed forces had threatened retaliation against the region’s energy infrastructure if they were attacked.

For ordinary Iranians, the constant oscillation between fear and relief, anxiety and hope, has been emotionally draining.

In phone interviews and text messages, some expressed that they simply They wanted the war to endin one way or another.

“They go to war at night. They finish it in the morning. It’s all ridiculous,” said Vahid, a 37-year-old resident of Tehran, Iran, who, like most ordinary Iranians interviewed, asked that his last name not be used for fear of reprisals.

“Either we fight or we don’t fight,” he added.

On Thursday, crowds of people left Tehran, the capital, in response to Trump’s threats.

The three main roads leading out of the city to the north, towards the coasts of the Caspian Sea, were collapsed, according to the deputy police chief told local media.

Reza, a 48-year-old business manager, and his wife decided to take a weekend trip north to wait out the latest wave of tensions, he said in a telephone interview.

He explained that they were concerned that the United States could attack civilian infrastructure, a concern fueled by a recent attack in the south that destroyed a facility that, according to an analysis by The New York Timesseemed to be intended for the supply of drinking water.

“Work is very slow, companies are paralyzed by fluctuating prices, it seems that our lives are on pause,” Reza said.

In addition to concerns for their safety in the event of another all-out war, Iranians interviewed expressed fear that the economy would collapse further if the conflict remained stagnant.

They claim that if reciprocal attacks become the norm and the naval blockade attack on Iranian ports continues, everyday life will become even more difficult.

In his post calling off the planned attacks, Trump said the blockade would “remain in full force and effect” until a deal was reached.

Mahasti, a 65-year-old Tehran resident who works in the health sector, said the situation was as serious as a bombing, as disruptions to trade and reduced oil revenues from Iran were gradually deteriorating the quality of life for many Iranians.

“Our lives are becoming more and more difficult,” he declared.

“If it’s not war, it’s sanctions or blockade; there’s always something.”

Some took to social media to vent.

Iman Vaghefi, a Tehran-based sociologist, wrote on social media after news of Wednesday night’s attacks broke that he had lived in a state of “anxiety and uncertainty” for the past six months.

“Another night of terror and dread due to the assault and the explosion,” he said.

The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkianacknowledged that the status quo was unsustainable in a speech delivered during a memorial ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

«We must get out of this situation of neither war nor peace. “War, without a doubt, does not benefit the country,” he said, although he added that military aggression would not cause Iran to surrender.

Further confusing the Iranians, Trump on Thursday afternoon once again claimed that the deal was close, saying it could be signed “maybe over the weekend, in Europe.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Tehran had not yet reached “a definitive conclusion on the deal,” according to Iran’s state broadcaster.