When U.S. President Donald Trump vowed in January to intervene militarily in Iran in support of anti-government protesters, many citizens initially welcomed the prospect. Sorour, a clerk in Tehran, recalled feeling that it was “the only way we can get rid of this regime.” That hope, however, was quickly shattered when the intervention arrived in the form of an airstrike that struck the building next to the gas station where she had been parked. She remembers the scene vividly, describing how she slipped and found herself amid the horrific remains of a motorcyclist who had been filling up, a memory that haunts her to this day.
For many Iranians, what once seemed like a potential rupture from nearly five decades of authoritarian rule has instead become a nightmare of destruction without the promised deliverance. After two weeks of U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites and security infrastructure, ordinary citizens describe a nation exhausted and uncertain. Bombing campaigns have also damaged fuel depots, police stations, and power facilities. Electricity is intermittent, gasoline is rationed, and communication networks remain unreliable. Despite thousands of strikes, the Islamic Republic’s regime remains intact.
“What I’m feeling is an intense fear for the future of this country,” said Kamran, a Tehran resident who, like all other Iranians TIME spoke to, requested a pseudonym to avoid retaliation. “All of our infrastructure is going up in flames—military, economic, even electricity now. We don’t have the capital or technology to rebuild them. The economy had already tanked under the mismanagement of the regime, but what we’ll be facing after the dust settles will probably be more akin to famine and starvation.”
Residents who once celebrated the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the initial wave of strikes now find themselves confounded by Trump’s own statements suggesting that the regime could remain in power. Mahmood, the CEO of an IT company in Tehran, expressed frustration: “Trump either didn’t have a clear strategy to begin with, or it was based on wrong data. None of what he has done has helped the people of Iran. Our situation isn’t any better.” He added a Persian proverb that seemed to capture the sentiment of many: “He wanted to pluck the eyebrow but blinded us instead.”
Despite the bombardment, the core institutions of the Islamic Republic appear unshaken. Security forces and loyalists have filled the streets of major cities, first to mourn Khamenei, and then to celebrate the appointment of his son, Mojtaba, as the new Supreme Leader. For many citizens, the transition underscored the grim continuity of the regime. Esfandiar, a Tehran architect, described it as a government intent on absolute authority. “There is no middle ground with them; they will either be eliminated, or they will eliminate everybody else,” he said, describing a state preparing for a prolonged confrontation. “They plan to fight the Americans and Israelis to the very last man. As for the citizens of Iran: they are saying, either join us, or get out of the way, otherwise we will destroy you, and the country, and the region.”
The warning came into sharp relief on March 5, when Salar Abnoush, a member of Iran’s parliament with roots in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, announced on state television that anyone protesting the regime would be treated as an agent of Israel. “Shoot to kill orders have been issued,” he declared. “I’m telling you clearly—watch out.”
Even those who criticized the late Khamenei for provoking conflict are fearful of what comes next. Zoreh, a working mother in Tehran, blamed him for dragging the country into crises unrelated to domestic concerns. “He made matters such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and fighting American influence the main issues of the country, while it had nothing to do with Iran. Now he’s gone, God damn him, and we’re left with the consequences.” Gasoline is rationed to five gallons per customer, and public order is fraying as police stations are destroyed and communication networks disrupted.
Hesam, a journalist in Tehran, warned that ordinary life is becoming impossible. “Public law and order is not an ideological requirement, it’s a basic necessity of life. No matter who is in power, how can thieves and criminals be controlled when there are no police stations left? When all of their equipment and vehicles have been blown up?” He has moved his family to the countryside in hopes of safety, a sentiment echoed by many who feel trapped in an increasingly untenable environment.
Kamran sees a larger tragedy emerging. “Iran will become a lesson for the world, present and future,” he said, “on how a country so rich in human and material resources can become the weakest country in the world, all because of a senseless apocalyptic ideology.” TIME magazine’s reporting from Tehran paints a picture of a nation caught between external military force and internal authoritarian resilience, a population enduring the human cost of foreign intervention without the liberation that many had once hoped for.
As citizens navigate power outages, food scarcity, and a breakdown of public services, the question of whether military strikes can ever translate into real freedom remains unresolved. For now, Iranians face a stark reality: the regime stands, their daily lives are imperiled, and the vision of liberation has turned into a landscape of fear and destruction.
