The voices inside Iran the regime doesn't want you to hear

Australia Broadcast Center

7 hours ago

In a country where dissidents face arrest or even execution, 10 Iranians put themselves at risk to document the war.
It's 2am in Iran when a message pops up on my phone.
"They are bombing us now. I can hear it. I'm at my mum's. There is no shelter. I'm terrified. Pray for us. We may die."
The text is from Zahra, a young woman who lives in Tehran, and she is risking her life to send it.
It's difficult to get a sense of how ordinary Iranians have been feeling during the past fortnight.
Foreign journalists are rarely allowed into Iran, and media in the country is tightly controlled by the regime.
People who speak out face arrest, even execution, and rolling internet blackouts help authorities tighten their grip on information.
One of my contacts was arrested and held in jail just last year.
But throughout the war, several Iranians — including a teacher, a mother, and a labourer — have been sending me information as the war unfolded.
They want the outside world to know what's happening in their country. Here are their stories.
'It felt like an earthquake': The war begins
People described the first attacks as feeling "like an earthquake". ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
Under the cover of darkness, Israel begins Operation Rising Lion on June 13.
People wake to explosions and bright clouds of light in the sky.
Panic and confusion sweep the streets.
ZAHRA: It felt like an earthquake happened. I was terrified, it was almost close to my house. It was 2:30am and suddenly I saw a yellow-orange light … I brought my head up and heard booooooooooom. It all happened in a second.
FARAH: My mum heard the booms at about 3am. And she started screaming. They attack our neighbourhood, behind my house, and everything is shattered and destroyed.
ZAHRA: I called my mum and begged her to go to the basement. I was running the steps down, calling the neighbours to come down … my dog was following me. You have no idea how I was shaking, no idea! My spine was shaking, my whole body, my legs were shaking so much that I couldn't stand on them. Then it kept going, the night after and the night after.
FARAH: In the streets, it is heart-wrenching. I feel so heartbroken to see the kids and young people, ordinary ones who are not in the army, are all killed. And near my house, there is a girl who is killed, she was 20-something, and I keep thinking about her because I remember that I had so many dreams when I was 20. Anyway, that's war.
'No-one is in the streets': Thousands flee Tehran
People were told to evacuate Tehran, but several residents told the ABC it was difficult. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
Hours after the attack, Iran's leaders declare war and fire barrages of missiles back at Israel.
Israel's military continues to bomb nuclear sites and assassinate senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. Civilians are also killed.
People are told to evacuate Tehran — but not everyone can leave.
FARAH: We left our city Tehran yesterday. Usually it takes four to five hours to reach to the north part of Iran and yesterday it took us 11 hours. It was very crowded, all the roads and the highways. And I just drive 500 metres in 10 minutes. It's horrible.
ZAHRA: I am still in Tehran, it is almost empty. Shops are closed, no-one is in the streets.
Some people spend more than 12 hours in traffic getting out of Tehran. In other cities, food and fuel is already scarce.
FARAH: I just went to the petrol station here [in northern Iran] and they told me that I can just take the 30 litres, no more. And I heard from my friends in Tehran that you can just get 15 litres for your car per day and not more. So petrol is like a crisis.
'There is no place to hide': Fear intensifies
People told the ABC they felt like "nothing" was in their control. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
Five days into the war, Israel's bombing campaign continues.
The official death toll in Iran has climbed past 200. It's unclear how many are civilians.
People fear the war will continue for years.
FARAH: It's been less than a week that they started the war and in just few days everything collapsed and destroyed. And we lost so many beautiful lives and minds.
YASMIN: Nothing is in our control. It's not in the hands of the people here either. But we've gotta keep our spirit strong. We've been through so much through the years — and it's made us thick skinned … really thick.
FARAH: Innocent people, they are killed, they stay in their home, and there is no alarm, there is no place to hide, there is not shelter, there's no food. I don't know what are we doing?
ZAHRA: It's war. It's Israel. It's scary.
'They will kill us': Some hope war will topple regime
Some people said they hoped the war would lead to the end of the regime. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
There's talk that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could be assassinated.
Hundreds of men from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the military group that protects the theocratic regime — have also been killed.
Amongst the fear, there is hope among people who despise the regime that it could fall.
ZAHRA: I hate these paradoxical feelings. On one hand, I am glad that those [in the IRGC] who killed our children, blinded them, imprisoned us are dead. On the other hand, our national pride has been attacked and I/we feel humiliated. Some are angry with the regime and feel happy about eliminating the leaders. Some are not happy with the war and they think it's encroaching our country.
KAMRAN: It's this strange feeling, like people were relieved the war started, just because they thought maybe everything else — all this madness — would finally end.
ALI: If foreign attacks shatter the regime's grandeur and that fear shatters, it will definitely lead to regime change.
ZAHRA: I just woke up, we're still at war. We want it all gone. The regime must go. If they stay after this war, they will kill us all. And we know it. Israel must end up eliminating the regime's men. If not, they will arrest us, they will kill us.
'This might be the last chance': Panic as US bombs Iran
People were afraid of what the US joining the war could lead to. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
Just after 2am on June 22, nine days after the first strikes, America joins the war.
US forces drop massive "bunker-busting" bombs on several nuclear sites.
People inside Iran fear this means real war — not just with Israel, but the start of something that could destroy all of their country.
ZAHRA: They bombed Fordow and other sites. It was like an earthquake. Fordow was a place that Israel couldn't bomb so Trump did it instead. But Israel won't stop now. They will finish the Islamic Republic.
LENA: State media is telling us that the enriched uranium was moved elsewhere and that nothing has happened. Right now, we don't even have satellite access. Many people don't know what actually happened. For example, I didn't know myself. I went out this morning [and] found out there that the US had struck.
FARAH: Nobody knows what's going on and what will happen next. The nuclear leaks, maybe. Maybe we won't be like alive in the next few hours? Who knows? Now this American attack … I can't stop my tears.
LENA: The regime doesn't let us access the news or talk to each other. They've shut everything down on us.
ZAHRA: This might be the last chance for us. FINISH them. America will finish them.
'I am full of anger': Mixed feelings over sudden ceasefire
Iranians had mixed feelings after the ceasefire was announced. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
A day after the US bombs Iran, Donald Trump announces a ceasefire.
There's shock and disbelief inside Iran. Could the war really be over？
There's also a growing anger, at what some see as a missed opportunity to topple the regime.
FARAH: For now I am full of anger … this mullah's regime is still here and our country is destroyed, many people have been killed for nothing!!!!!! This morning I was crying when I heard the news. They promised us to change the regime. They said that they're going to kill Khamenei, they're going to bring better days but it's all lies, empty promises.
YASMIN: Nothing is in our control. It's not in the hands of the people here either. My brain is throbbing. I don't want to give this s*** anymore energy I'm done for today, I'm done with it all. With those f***ers, with politics.
FARHAD: I would have preferred Israel to destruct and weaken the regime led by Khamenei even more. If they continue the war, they [Iran's regime] might get weaker, their economy might further weaken and the people could have greater courage to start an uprising.
KAMRAN: If they go ahead and announce a permanent ceasefire, after all the damage that's been done to the Islamic Republic's infrastructure, our lives will only get worse. Much worse.
'I still have hope': People disappointed regime remains
The Iranian regime, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has tight control over the media. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
Anger quickly turns to fear with the realisation the war is over, but the regime remains.
Some predict the weakened regime will crack down even harder — especially on those who oppose the regime — as it fights for its survival.
FARAH: Right now the regime will have a lot of excuses — that if [you] don't behave like they what they want, according to them, based on Islamic rule, then it's enough for them to label you a spy — you are working for Israel, you are American spy. Then they kill you easily.
AVA: I'm disappointed … I thought maybe this could be it. I still have hope that it [the ceasefire] won't last — because otherwise, the people will have to pay for this war.
KAMRAN: If I'm being real, I've kind of lost faith, I'm disappointed. Maybe it's all just some psychological game they're playing, I don't know.
FARAH: We went to do some shopping yesterday. On the way there, there were more than 10 checkpoints with lots and lots of young policemen with huge guns. I saw they stopped many young men and all kind of lorries and big cars. We came back in the evening, there were lots of checkpoints too with policemen but different types of uniform which I didn't recognise and we've never seen them before. Scary.
'Twelve days of horror': Iranians question what the war achieved
Several people told the ABC the cost of food and fuel is already soaring. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon )
The war is over, but it's not time to celebrate.
People in Tehran report massive damage and say the city will need extensive repairs.
They say the regime and its henchmen are already jacking up the prices of petrol, oil, and food — likely to raise money to pay for the reconstruction.
Some feel like the war was for nothing.
KAMRAN: We're going to be the ones expected to pay for the damage — in every sense of the word. Any loss, any destruction — they'll find a way to get people to make up for it. They'll squeeze us. They'll justify it by saying, "We gave you peace. We gave you stability." In every possible sense — especially economically, we'll be crushed. We'll be struggling just to stay afloat, nothing more.
BIJAN: We have been notified that for three or four days now, no imports are coming into Iran. Iran's stock exchange has been closed for a week. That affects the economy.
FARAH: We don't know how to be happy. What did they achieve from this kind of war? It's just 12 days of horror and shocks and stress. They destroyed all the buildings. They destroyed our homes. They killed innocent, ordinary people … I feel like my heart is bleeding.
ZAHRA: Yes we are tired … yes we are disappointed. But, change takes time. You should know the history of Saddam and Gaddafi? The same thing happened. So we will be patient. Change will happen.
Credits:
Reporting: Middle East correspondent Allyson Horn
Additional reporting: Kaveh Akbari, Fariba Sahraei and Nassim Khadem
Illustrations: Sharon Gordon
Digital production and editing: Leonie Thorne and Toby Mann