Quartz – War with Israel and U.S. leaves Iranians grappling with economic ruin and lost hope
Interviews the Times conducted via voice apps with more than 20 people in Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Mashhad painted a picture of unease cutting across political lines, with government supporters and opponents alike struggling to make sense of the situation. Basic goods have become dramatically more expensive as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off oil exports and the damage to critical industries compounds an economy already described as being in freefall — all against a backdrop of a reported civilian death toll of 1,700. “I’m angry. I feel alone,” Kimia, a 25-year-old designer in Tehran, told The Times. “We don’t matter to the world at all; we’re only seen as tools for war and negotiation.”
The ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, according to The Times, after Iran fired a fresh volley of ballistic missiles toward Israel — a development that Iranian officials tied to Israeli actions in Lebanon but that many feared could invite a retaliatory response.
For those who had hoped the strikes might weaken the Islamic Republic, the outcome has been a source of particular bitterness. “The economy is worse than it was on 28 December and with the number of raids, arrests and executions daily, we have been left with an emboldened regime,” said Saeed, a Tehran resident who participated in earlier protests, according to the Guardian.
According to rights organizations quoted by the Guardian, security forces responded to the December protests with lethal force, leaving thousands dead. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the number of arrests above 50,000, while the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO documented at least 226 executions so far this year.
For Amir, a Mashhad-based business owner who spoke to the Guardian, what had begun as a fervent belief that U.S. pressure could force political change had curdled into something more painful — a doubt, given the economic toll and worsening human rights conditions, about whether any of it was worth it. “This is not a ceasefire,” he said. “It’s a never-ending auction between the US and the Islamic Republic over our lives and our blood.”