‘Our people deserve a normal life’ – Iranian tells BBC Persianpublished at 17:51 GMT
17:51 GMT
Ghoncheh Habibiazad and BBC Persian
BBC Persian has been hearing from Iranians, as the country continues to be targeted by US and Israeli strikes.
Sajad says most shops are closed, food prices have gone up, and the streets are very quiet.
While people are “anxious and stressed”, the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made him “more hopeful about the future”.
“Almost no one imagined that things would reach this point,” he says, adding that the “scale of these attacks” on the western city of Urmia is “truly shocking”.
Amir, who left Iran two weeks ago and is now stuck in the United Arab Emirates, says: “Nothing good comes out of war. But unfortunately, we’ve been pushed to a point where some people are willing to endure this pain in the hope that we might see a better tomorrow.”
He adds that he “shakes” every time he hears of another attack on Tehran as that’s where his family is: “I would rather be under the bombing myself than sit here knowing it’s happening to my loved ones. Our people deserve a normal life”.
“Tehran feels very empty,” says one woman in her twenties. “Anyone leaving home I think must have an urgent reason, otherwise they’d stay at home.”
She says that she had a plane ticket, booked for yesterday, to travel to Europe and study, but “all my plans are now up in the air, which makes me feel a bit sad.”
“On the first day, people were chanting and everyone seemed happy,” she says. “But now there are police forces around. Most shops are closed. Supermarkets and bakeries remain open, though some ATMs are out of service.”
Image source, Supplied