Between a steadfast facade and growing desperation, the testimonies collected by the AFP news agency describe everyday life in turmoil and an uncertain future.
Image: Keystone
For a month of ongoing Israeli-American air strikes, Iranians have been living to the rhythm of explosions, inflation and tightened security measures. Those affected report.
March 28, 2026, 7:02 p.mMarch 28, 2026, 7:02 p.m
A month after the start of the ongoing Israeli-American bombing raids, the short nights and supply shortages have become everyday suffering, and the increasing tightening of security measures has almost become a habit. The AFP news agency collected the following testimonies from Iranians.
translation
This text was written by our colleagues from French-speaking Switzerland and we translated it for you.
Crippling inflation
“I no longer have any income at all,” complains Golnar. The 29-year-old lives in Tehran and used to be able to make a living from her online shop. She adds:
«Everyone in our family usually works and we don’t even pay rent – but we still can’t afford things like going to restaurants or leisure activities. We only allow ourselves the most necessary expenses to live on.”
Sadeq, 42, lives on the island of Qeshm, a tourist hotspot in Iran, located right at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Instead of the usual magnificent high season, the Persian New Year’s festival Nowruz was a disaster this time.
“Our hotel and our cafés are only half full,” he notes. Where:
“Many people came here to stay longer and wait to see how the war would develop.”
To give an example: “Sometimes we have to wait for hours to get fuel.”
The semblance of normality
Many of the resilient Iranians, long accustomed to the consequences of sanctions, appear to be continuing to live by their habits.
In Tehran «There is no hunger, everything is available. The cafes are open and we always go out… There is gas, water and electricity,” describes Shayan, a 40-year-old resident. He admits:
“But we all feel a sense of powerlessness.”
“We meet up with family and friends, play cards and have a drink. The shops and restaurants are open until 9 p.m., but the city seems deserted. Most people are gone.”
Another resident of Tehran shares her impression that she has “got used to the situation”.
An injured woman after being evacuated from her apartment following an attack on a residential building in Tehran, March 28, 2026.Image: keystone
“The noise, the explosions and rockets are now part of the daily routine… I believe that it is gradually becoming more and more commonplace for everyone,” says the 35-year-old woman.
“Our only concern at the moment is that our oil and gas infrastructure could be targeted by missile attacks. I think that’s the only thing all Iranians agree on at the moment.”
Absolute pessimism
A 34-year-old man living in the city of Sanandaj in Iran’s Kurdistan Province cannot hide his pessimism.
«The truth is that in the last few days we have realized that the regime of the Islamic Republic will not be overthrown as we imagined. To believe that the Islamic Republic will fall like the Shah 47 years ago, who was overthrown and ceased to exist in a single day, is a mistake. Because unlike the Shah, they are not an individual. There are thousands of them, or more precisely: they are an ideology.”
“We all know how powerful and ruthless this local regime is. And we hear from regime supporters who actually want a full-scale war between the Iranian and American armies. If that happens, this regime would only become stronger.”is his prediction.
He summarizes: “Whoever wins, the result will be tragic.” Ensieh, a dentist from Tehran, also shares this fatalism. She says she loses hope a little more every day.
«We are caught between three mad powers, and the war is terrifying. I know I will never be the same person again. The war took away a part of me that will not return.”
The repression is intensifying
In Tehran, “you are likely to have to go through multiple checkpoints in a single day… cars are searched, cell phones are checked,” including photos, hidden files, applications and even personal notes, says Kaveh, a 38-year-old artist.
According to him, groups with connections to the armed security forces have taken control of the streets and are driving through Tehran at night “honking their horns and waving flags.” If there is an agreement to end the war with the same regime, “we are lost. We will have to leave Iran for at least two or three years because they will turn against us.”.
The possibility of escape
Katayoon recently managed to leave Iran and enter Turkey. Two days before her departure, she was knocked out of bed by the blast from an air raid.
The yoga teacher explains that her decision to leave the country was mainly due to the fact that she “lived in fear for at least a decade” have. Fear of “my headscarf falling off my head in the street, right up to the fact that I wasn’t allowed to teach the opposite sex or enjoy basic freedoms.”
«There is no other option. People don’t have money for food. Life has become unbearable.” (dal/afp)