A broken economy and an emboldened regime: Iranians abandoned to endure fallout from war

A girl walks past an anti-US mural depicting Iran and US negotiations at a table, near the former US embassy in Tehran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA View image in fullscreen A girl walks past an anti-US mural depicting Iran and US negotiations at a table, near the former US embassy in Tehran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA A broken economy and an emboldened regime: Iranians abandoned to endure fallout from war Some Iranians hoped foreign intervention would unseat the regime but instead the US-Israel war has damaged livelihoods and strengthened those in power As Donald Trump swung this week between threats of new military action against Iran and predictions that a lasting ceasefire deal was imminent, many Iranians were left exhausted and gripped by uncertainty. Despite the partial lifting of an internet shutdown that began when the war started on 28 February, fears of worsening repression at home have also fuelled pessimism about the future among some of those to whom the Guardian spoke. Speaking over the phone from Tehran last weekend, Saeed, who participated in the large protests against the regime earlier this year and, like others, asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons, said he feared what he viewed as the worst possible outcome had now arrived. “I predicted much earlier that if the US were to attack with promises of coming to our rescue and leaving us without a definitive plan, like this current ceasefire, then it would be the worst outcome. The economy is worse than it was on 28 December [when the protests began] and with the number of raids, arrests and executions daily, we have been left with an emboldened regime. We are truly in a fucked up situation,” he said. For Saeed, the aftermath has deepened not only political fears but also divisions within families, exposing generational fault lines over how the crisis is understood. Asked whether his views were widely shared, he described sharp disagreements among friends and relatives. “Some of the elderly members in my family seem to think we [young protesters] are brainwashed and have brought shame to the country,” he said. “They believe everything said on state TV and don’t realise the regime has been executing young people just because they were out protesting. They think they were spies.” The anti-government protests that began in December and spread across the country were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces, according to rights groups. Thousands were reported killed, more than 50,000 arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), and at least 226 people have been executed this year, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO). Meanwhile, the regime has reportedly set up military training booths in the capital to teach civilians how to operate Kalashnikovs, in an effort to prepare them to take up arms if the war resumes. Rallies by pro-government crowds in military Jeeps mounted with machine guns have flooded