Iranians | Pakistan

After a month of US-Israel war on Iran with no clear end in sight, Iranians tell AFP about how life has changed, about watching missiles fall, and how security forces have tightened their grip. Here is a collection of interviews conducted with Iranians, mostly people in Tehran, who shared their experiences with AFP journalists outside the country. Their names have been changed to protect their identities. Iran has been arresting and warning citizens about speaking to journalists or sending images outside the country amid an internet blackout and severe phone network restrictions. Economic pressure Iran was already suffering economically before the war, but the conflict has sparked even higher inflation and brought many industries to a standstill. “My income comes from my online shop, but for the past two months I’ve had no income at all,” Golnar from Tehran told AFP. “In our family, everyone is working and we don’t even pay rent, yet we still can’t think about things like going to restaurants or any kind of l...

THOUSANDS of Iranians rally after Friday prayers in Tehran, even as US-Israeli bombing continues unabated.—Reuters • Dar phones Araghchi; Pezeshkian says some nations have begun mediation efforts • Markets tumble as Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’, says ‘waste of time’ to send ground troops • White House says operations could take ‘four to six weeks’; claims intel agencies ‘looking at potential leaders’ • Gulf states, Azerbaijan reel from drone attacks, missile strikes • US media claims Russia supplying intelligence to Iran’s forces • Iran thanks Saudis for not letting airspace be used for offensive actions TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: Even as the US and Israel unleashed cataclysmic bombing raids across the country, thousands of Iranians defiantly took to the streets of Tehran after Friday prayers, rallying in memory of their assassinated supreme leader and railing against the invasion of their country. Footage aired by Iranian media showed crowds of men and women dressed in black, some carrying Iranian flags...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iranians should continue nationwide protests and take over the country’s institutions. “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” Later, when asked what he meant by saying “help is on its way” to protesters in Iran, Trump told reporters that they would have to figure it out. “You’re going to have to figure that one out. I’m sorry,” Trump said in response to a question. On Monday, his Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that a channel for diplomacy with Tehran remained open, saying that Iran was taking a “far different tone” in private discussions with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump on Monday also announced a 25 per cent tariff on any country doing business with Iran. Following the US pre...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iranians were “looking at freedom, perhaps like never before” and that Washington was ready to offer support as protests continued to spread across the Middle Eastern country. “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The USA stands ready to help!!!” The president later repeated the message in other posts as well while US media reported that Washington was mulling potential strikes against Iran. Iran has witnessed waves of protests since late December, triggered largely by a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. The demonstrations began on Dec 28 near Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and later spread to several other cities. On Friday, Trump said Iran was “in big trouble” as unrest grew, adding that the United States was “watching very closely” and warning Iranian authorities against using lethal force against protesters. Iranian officials have ac...

Professor sheds lights on the Iranians invisible in Hollywood and US news media