THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

A Wartime Diary From Tehran - The Atlantic Listen − 1.0 x + Seek 0:00 18:40 On June 13, 2025, Israel launched air strikes on nuclear and military sites in Iran. Over the 12 days that followed, the Israeli campaign expanded to include energy and other infrastructure; Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes inside Israel; and the United States entered the conflict with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. Alireza Iranmehr is a novelist and an essayist who lives in the north of Iran but returned to Tehran to witness and document the bombardment. He sent the following series of short dispatches to his translator throughout the conflict. J une 16, 8:30 p.m. T he enormous roundabout at Azadi Square was full of cars, yet still felt somehow deserted. Then it dawned on me: Humans—they were mostly missing. Where normally tens of thousands of pedestrians thronged, now there were only a scattered few. Even many of the cars sat empty. Azadi Square is commonly the first place one sees upon arriving in Tehran and the last upon departure; several major expressways pass through it, and it is not far from Mehrabad Airport, which serves domestic flights. The airport reportedly ha…

What Anti-Regime Iranians Can't Agree On - The Atlantic This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. In the days since the U.S. and Israel first launched strikes against Iran, nearly 800 Iranians, six American service members, and at least ten Israelis have been killed. Israeli forces took out Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , over the weekend. On Saturday, a bombing at a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran killed more than 100 people, most of them likely children, according to Iranian officials. President Trump said today that new strikes had targeted more Iranian leaders (some of whom may have been among the administration’s top picks to lead the country next). As the war continues, his administration has yet to offer a clear plan for how long the fighting will last and what will happen to Iranians after the fighting ceases. Iranians’ lives have been upended, but their domestic struggles have long predated this latest war. I spoke with Arash Azizi, the author of What Iranians Want and a contributing writer fo…

Life in Tehran now: 'They are turning the country into ruins' A woman sits on a pile of rubble outside a residential building in Tehran on Thursday. Vahid Salemi / AP Share Add NBC News to Google March 12, 2026, 1:21 PM EDT / Updated March 12, 2026, 1:33 PM EDT By Babak Dehghanpisheh Hoda was so furious over Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters in January that she wanted the country’s security forces to be attacked as payback. Then the bombs began to batter areas near her Tehran home. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. “I was always against these people and thought it would be limited and finished fast,” she said of the U.S. and Israeli attacks. “I regret that and take it back. They are turning the country into ruins.” Hoda, 40, like others interviewed for this article, asked that only her first name be used out of fear of arrest or harassment from security forces. Debris litters the floor in the Golestan Palace in Tehran on March 3 after it was damaged by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images Since the war started, the U.S. and Israeli military have targeted multiple locations across the countr…

Don’t overlook how ordinary Iranians view the war People walk next to a mural depicting the late leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on April 8, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters Connect) WASHINGTON—In the past week, headlines in the West about the Iran war have focused on the exchange of increasingly hostile threats between US and Iranian leaders. Now, following the news on April 7 that Washington and Tehran have struck a two-week cease-fire deal, attention is turning to the ongoing negotiations between the two sides. Little, however, is being reported about the fates of ordinary Iranians, creating a concerning blind spot for US policymakers as they consider whether to resume strikes on Iran after two weeks have expired. In part, not much is being reported out of Iran because little is known. Since the war began, the Iranian regime has imposed a near-total internet blackout . As during the previous internet blackout in January—when the regime unleashed an unprecedented wave of state violence to suppress nationwide protests, killing as many as 30,000 people by some estimates…

In Tehran, exhausted Iranians are caught between war and the shadow of ... Afshin, a 38-year-old living in Tehran, speaks for many Iranians when he describes how he’s feeling, over three months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran . “We’re exhausted,” he says. “It’s either been war since last summer, or the shadow of war. I hope they come to a deal so we can finally get out of this suspended state… I just want life to go back to normal.” Like many others here in Iran , Afshin is tentatively hopeful that negotiations between the US and his country might resolve the current situation, which he describes as “neither war nor peace”. Talks mediated by several regional countries, including Pakistan and Qatar , have continued, despite US strikes on southern Iran and Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon . Last week, Iranians were reading that a deal would give both sides an additional 60 days of ceasefire, during which time a more comprehensive agreement covering multiple issues, including Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and sanctions relief, would be worked out. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, …

The Catastrophe That Has Befallen All of Us - Boston Review Published in our Spring 2026 issue This essay is part of a special section, Dispatches from the Forever Wars , in our Spring 2026 issue. When the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28, I didn’t hear from my oldest friend , an educator who runs an art center in Tehran, for eight long days. Rahaa, as I’ll call her here, is in her fifties. We both lived through the bombardment of Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988. After living through last year’s twelve-day war, she is now living through bombardment again. When Rahaa finally called me on March 8, she was overcome with anxiety. I invited her to keep a war diary, in part as a way to cope; she told me she would think about it. When she managed to break through the Islamic Republic’s internet blackout a week ago, she sent pages of text. What follows is my abbreviated translation (from Persian) of her reflections on “the catastrophe that has befallen all of us.” It is published here with her permission. —Naghmeh Sohrabi Wednesday, 20 Esfand 1404 [March 11, 2026] I am against war. Against war. This does not mean agreeing with the Islamic Republic. I am ag…

Iranians tell the world: The war must continue until the Ayatollah's ... This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Persian Almost two weeks have passed since Israeli and US forces launched military operations against Iran , and the attacks on Islamic Republic positions and officials are entering a new phase. But numerous personal accounts suggest that while Iranians are worried about the consequences of the war, many also see it as a historic opportunity to bring an end to the regime’s rule. One reader of Independent Persian sent us this message from Tehran : “After a whole week, I finally managed to connect to the internet with great difficulty. I was hoping to get a few minutes of respite from the Islamic Republic’s depressing propaganda-filled news. I wanted to tell you that we are not afraid of war. “We fear nothing as much as the Islamic Republic remaining in power. We fear the [current rulers] will be discarded only to be replaced by the leftovers of the same system. “Speak up on our behalf and tell everyone that our internet has been shut off for 245 hours. Tell them that we have been turned into human shields. Tell them no evacuation orders are issued ev…

Iranians greet deal to end war with relief, suspicion and uncertainty ... Iranians have reacted with relief, suspicion and uncertainty after US President Donald Trump announced a deal to end the months-long US-Israeli war on Iran . "Has it really ended? I can’t believe it," Sepideh, a 32-year-old Tehran resident, told Middle East Eye on Monday. "Thank God. I still can't believe it's over. I just hope everything goes back to normal. We were exhausted. I'm so, so happy." Sepideh, who sells handmade jewellery online, said the past few months had left her business hanging by a thread. Like many small business owners in Iran, she watched sales collapse as conflict, uncertainty and internet disruptions reshaped daily life. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "Most of my sales came through Instagram," she said. "When the internet was cut off, everything was frozen. Besides that, nobody was in the mood to buy things like jewellery." 'I want things to improve in Iran. I want sanctions to be lifted. Most of our problems come from sanctions' - Darya, 28-year-old Iranian…

Private messages reveal some Iranians still feel hope for future even ... Iranians describe their fears and hopes as the war rages around them. Even as the attacks on Iran continue, with smoke rising from airstrike targets, some Iranians are privately expressing hope that the turmoil could yield change that many have yearned for. Watching conflicts, especially three of them in less than a year, has been "terrifying" for Amir, anIranian journalist who asked ABC News not to use his real name over security concerns. He lived through last June's12-day war between Iran and Israeland reported on it as more than 1,200 people were killed, according to Iranian state media. After the U.S. targeted Iran's nuclear sites, that warended with a ceasefire, which did not last more than eight months until a new war broke on the last day of last month. Watch special coverage onNightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. He then witnessed what he also describes as"a war" in January, when the ruling regime of Irancommitted massacres and killed its own citizensin different cities across the country. In an almost complete communication blockade, the Islamic Rep…

Iranians endure war fatigue and soaring prices as conflict deepens ... Street musicians play music as a woman carries a dog on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo/Vahid Salemi People walk on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo/Vahid Salemi Women buy vegetables in northern Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo/Vahid Salemi Joyful youngsters walk on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo/Vahid Salemi Women sit in the al fresco dining area of a cafe in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo/Vahid Salemi CAIRO (AP) — Iranians are living between confusion and exhaustion as the country and its economy are squeezed between war and multiplying crises at home. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he called off fresh strikes on Iran as he claimed a deal to end the war was imminent. Back-and-forth strikes earlier this week pushed a shaky ceasefire to the edge of collapse, which, if it happens, would inflict more havoc on Iran’s battered economy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Strikes on steel a…

Iranians, Angry and Exhausted, Face Deep Uncertainty in Wake of … Error:Contact form not found. People walk past a billboard depicting the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the late Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, Iran, June 6, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS IRAN – The Iranian people have been living through an exhausting cycle of hope, despair, negotiations, threats, partial agreements, and anever-ending wave of repressionby their own government since the US-Iran ceasefire took effect in April. Over the past two months, amid a period of neither peace nor full-scale war, ongoing uncertainty has made it difficult for ordinary Iranians to resume their lives and return to normalcy. Many Iranians have also expressed frustration with the US decision to negotiate with the Islamic regime, which in January murdered tens of thousands of civilians as part of abrutal crackdownon nationwide anti-regime protests. To understand how this uncertainty has affected ordinary citizens,The Algemeinerspoke with several Iranians about life during the ceasefire and seemingly endless nego…

Fear And Hope In Iran Amid US-Israeli Bombardment Share Share Iranians are gripped by fear -- and hope -- as the United States and Israel wage a massive bombardment designed to cripple the country's clerical rulers. The air strikes since February 28 have decimated much of Iran's leadership, including killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But they have also resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, according to local humanitarian groups, and destroyed schools and hospitals. "We were happy with the news of Khamenei's death," a 56-year-old man in Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told Radio Farda. "But now these heavy bombings are worrying me. Iran should not be destroyed and disintegrated. I hope the future is bright." The death of Khamenei, an autocrat who ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 40 years, was celebrated by some on the streets of Iran. But for many, attention has quickly turned to what comes next. No media source currently available The US and Israeli air campaign poses an existential threat to Iran's theocracy. If the Islamic republic collapses, some fear the multiethnic country of some 90 million people …

Iran's Illusion of Normalcy Shattered by Intensifying Israeli Strikes Listen to this Post 🐢 ▶️ Listen 🚀 A Nation on Edge: How Iran’s Civilian Life Is Disrupted by Escalating Conflict As Israel continues its targeted military strikes on Iranian soil, the Islamic Republic is finding it increasingly difficult to sustain a facade of stability and normalcy. What began as an official effort to maintain “business as usual” through remote work directives and limited public advisories has now unraveled under the weight of ongoing military assaults, economic tremors, and creeping public fear. From the temporary closure of Tehran’s bustling bazaar to panic at fuel stations and a frozen stock market, Iran’s effort to shield its population from the realities of war is faltering. Summary: The Slow Collapse of Routine Life Iran has struggled to maintain daily routines amidst a growing Israeli offensive. Initially, government offices and institutions attempted to continue operations, with remote work mandated in Tehran and nearby provinces. Civil servants were told to work from home, and essential services like banks and hospitals remained operational. In less-affected provinces, such as Hamadan,…

Iranians endure war fatigue and soaring prices | AP News Street musicians play music as a woman carries a dog on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) People walk on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Women buy vegetables in northern Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Joyful youngsters walk on a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Women sit in the al fresco dining area of a cafe in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) CAIRO (AP) — Iranians are living between confusion and exhaustion as the country and its economy are squeezedbetween warand multiplyingcrises at home. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he called off fresh strikes on Iran as he claimed a deal to end the war was imminent. Back-and-forth strikes earlier this week pushed a shaky ceasefire to the edge of collapse, which, if it happens, would inflict more havoc onIran’s battered economy. Strikes on steel and petrochemical industries and energy infrastructure earlier in the war have spurred a wave of business closure…

Even the Hospitals Aren't Safe in Iran | The New Yorker Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story After midnight, one evening in late January, a doctor ushered a young man with a mangled hand into her car and sped to a private clinic on the outskirts of Tehran. She took back roads to avoid security checkpoints, where hulking officers were strip-searching passengers to look for injuries or any evidence of their participation in the uprising that had recently swept the country. Around 2 A.M. , the doctor arrived safely at the clinic, where she slipped a glove over the man’s hand to hide his injury. Then she led him past reception, to a specialist who was waiting to receive him. In late December, mass protests erupted across Iran, leading security forces to massacre thousands of people over the course of several days in January. Scores of wounded demonstrators were left scrambling for medical help. Many government-run hospitals began operating as an extension of the regime’s security forces, targeting anyone who dared to seek treatment. Some of the injured were detained in wards, sometimes while under anesthesia. Others were denied care altogether. Many didn’t m…

Iranians see little chance of life improving as interim deal halts war with US <p>By Nilo Tabrizy</p><p>June 17 (Reuters) - When Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the interim deal this week to end the war with the United States, he declared his country the victor. To many Iranians it does not feel that way.</p><p>More than three months of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, and a blockade of Iranian ports, have poured new misery on a people already toiling under years of sanctions.</p>

Iranians Welcome a Peace Deal, but Worry About What Comes Next For Iranians exhausted by months of war, the announcement of a preliminary peace deal brought a rare moment of relief: the prospect of nights without explosions and an end, however fragile, to a conflict that had deepened the country’s isolation and financial despair. But almost as soon as the news began to spread, relief gave way to a more familiar feeling—uncertainty over whether a ceasefire would hold, whether the economy could recover, and whether the war had ultimately strengthened the government's hand at home. “My strongest reaction is relief. I'm relieved that there will be no more bombs … that I will be able to go to sleep without worrying about being woken up by bombs exploding around me, glass shattering,” says Somayeh, a 37-year-old who, like all other Iranians TIME spoke to for this story, asked to use a pseudonym because of fear of regime reprisals. “The problem is, I don't know how long this will last. America and Israel attacked both times while there were negotiations going on,” the Tehrani woman adds. Read more: U.S. and Iran Sign Agreement to Stop Fighting, Reopen Strait “I’m happy but also very worr…

Why are Iranians turning away from their national football team? | Iran ... “It is a real tragedy,” said Mohamad Machine Chian, a senior researcher at the Center of Governance and Markets at Pittsburgh University on theEye for Iranpodcast. “Their quality of life has been steadily dropping for the past couple of years. But especially the past year, it has been a disaster.” Chian told Eye for Iran that the Iranian government has continued to prioritize funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and military ventures over investing in the wellbeing of its citizens. Since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office, the Iranian currency has halved in value. With unemployment surging above 70 percent, millions are struggling to afford basic necessities as crippling inflation and poverty grip the nation. The sharp depreciation has driven inflation above 40 percent, with food prices soaring by as much as 100 percent in some cases. As the crisis deepens, the economic strain on ordinary Iranians is only expected to worsen in the coming months. Machine Chian said President Pezeshkian missed numerous opportunities to address the deepening crisis and has failed to include a welfare…

From the Frontline: No cheers in Tehran on Day 1 of Iran-U.S. deal-Xinhua Source: Xinhua Editor: huaxia 2026-06-16 03:45:30 TEHRAN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- For Reza, a 34-year-old taxi driver in Tehran, June 15 was an ordinary Monday. He washed his car in the morning, drove out, and made his way to Enghelab Square, waiting for his first passenger. Everything was as it had been. But for the city itself, the day carried a special significance. To the outside world, Tehran had become a focal point. In the early hours of the morning, the United States and Iran announced that, after more than three months of conflict, they had finally reached an agreement to end hostilities. Yet while much of the world welcomed the ceasefire as a long-awaited step toward stability in the Middle East, many in Tehran, having lived through repeated waves of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes over the past year, found little immediate reassurance. "If people had been through what we've been through, they would know that American promises alone are not enough to bring real peace," Reza said. "Talk of celebration feels like too much. We just want to get on with our lives." Reza's doubts were not without basis. A…