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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
PHOTO ESSAY: Iranians struggled with quiet moments of fear and anxiety for 12 days of war
CAIRO (AP) — For 12 days, Tehran fell dark and silent, except for the sound of explosions. In their houses and apartments, Iranians tried to pass the hours — sleepless, eyes on the TV for news of the war. A series of images document the moments in which residents of Iran's capital struggled to hold onto something familiar amid the uncertainty. They were taken by a freelance photographer and obtained by The Associated Press outside of Iran. The AP is publishing them on condition of anonymity over fears for the photographer's safety. The photos, made under unpredictable and often unsafe conditions amid evacuation alerts and falling missiles, show the tension between normalcy and chaos. Israel said its campaign aimed to cripple Iran's nuclear facilities, which its officials maintain are for peaceful means. Israel's strikes also pounded buildings around Tehran, while Iran fired back with barrages into Israel. A ceasefire began June 24. For 12 days, Tehran was transformed. The city normally bustles at all hours, its highways packed with cars and apartment towers lit up. During the war, most of the population fled. At night, blackness descended on the city. Those who remained largely stayed indoors. Outside their windows came the rhythm of explosions — sometimes distant, sometimes close enough to shake them — and the crackle of air defenses. One night, a group of friends gathered for dinner at a Tehran home. The table was full, the atmosphere warm. Guests joked with one another. But even as they dished up food and sat down in the living room to eat, everyone was glued to the television for any news. The next night, one of the largest and most powerful explosions in Tehran struck a short distance from where they had gathered. For Sara, a 9-year-old Afghan girl, reading and drawing in her sketchbook helped her endure the days at home. She sat on the living room floor with her markers, turning to see the TV. Her family fled to Iran to escape the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan four years ago; now during Israel's campaign, they were living through a new war. The family stayed inside not just for fear of strikes. They also worried they might be detained and deported amid wartime suspicion of Afghan refugees among some. 'Afghanistan is my homeland, and so is Iran. I have two countries that feel like one,' Sara said. On one page of her sketchbook, she wrote, 'Mursal, I love you, my dear' — a message for her best friend, whose family fled back to Afghanistan during the bombardment. Sara and others are only being identified by their first names out of concern for their security. During the day, some might step outside between blasts, capturing smoke rising in the distance with their phones. After one strike hit a building, a puddle of blood remained on the street. Evacuation alerts often came late at night. Some people spent nights in subway stations for safety. They lay down sheets and blankets on the tile floor or sat on the steps, scrolling through their phones as fighter jets and explosions could be heard on the streets above. ___ This story has been corrected to remove extraneous material.
Associated Press
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
PHOTO ESSAY: Iranians struggled with quiet moments of fear and anxiety for 12 days of war
CAIRO (AP) — For 12 days, Tehran fell dark and silent, except for the sound of explosions. In their houses and apartments, Iranians tried to pass the hours — sleepless, eyes on the TV for news of the war. A series of images document the moments in which residents of Iran's capital struggled to hold onto something familiar amid the uncertainty. They were taken by a freelance photographer and obtained by The Associated Press outside of Iran. The AP is publishing them on condition of anonymity over fears for the photographer's safety. The photos, made under unpredictable and often unsafe conditions amid evacuation alerts and falling missiles, show the tension between normalcy and chaos. Israel said its campaign aimed to cripple Iran's nuclear facilities, which its officials maintain are for peaceful means. Israel's strikes also pounded buildings around Tehran, while Iran fired back with barrages into Israel. A ceasefire began June 24. For 12 days, Tehran was transformed. The city normally bustles at all hours, its highways packed with cars and apartment towers lit up. During the war, most of the population fled. At night, blackness descended on the city. Those who remained largely stayed indoors. Outside their windows came the rhythm of explosions — sometimes distant, sometimes close enough to shake them — and the crackle of air defenses. One night, a group of friends gathered for dinner at a Tehran home. The table was full, the atmosphere warm. Guests joked with one another. But even as they dished up food and sat down in the living room to eat, everyone was glued to the television for any news. The next night, one of the largest and most powerful explosions in Tehran struck a short distance from where they had gathered. For Sara, a 9-year-old Afghan girl, reading and drawing in her sketchbook helped her endure the days at home. She sat on the living room floor with her markers, turning to see the TV. Her family fled to Iran to escape the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan four years ago; now during Israel's campaign, they were living through a new war. The family stayed inside not just for fear of strikes. They also worried they might be detained and deported amid wartime suspicion of Afghan refugees among some. 'Afghanistan is my homeland, and so is Iran. I have two countries that feel like one,' Sara said. On one page of her sketchbook, she wrote, 'Mursal, I love you, my dear' — a message for her best friend, whose family fled back to Afghanistan during the bombardment. Sara and others are only being identified by their first names out of concern for their security. During the day, some might step outside between blasts, capturing smoke rising in the distance with their phones. After one strike hit a building, a puddle of blood remained on the street. Evacuation alerts often came late at night. Some people spent nights in subway stations for safety. They lay down sheets and blankets on the tile floor or sat on the steps, scrolling through their phones as fighter jets and explosions could be heard on the streets above. Maryam and daughter Mastaneh live in a middle-class Tehran neighborhood. During the war, their usually active home fell quiet; both became anxious and withdrawn. Before the war, Maryam would wake at 6 a.m., go to the gym, then head to work at a hotel. But once the bombardment began, the hotel closed. Maryam's workout routine fell apart. She couldn't sleep at night and wound up waking late in the day. Depressed and exhausted, she couldn't bring herself to do housework. Meanwhile Mastaneh, a university student studying French, struggled with the internet cutoffs that made it nearly impossible to take her online final exams. One explosion from a strike blasted only a few blocks away. The war's final day was the most terrifying, Maryam said, as the sound of explosions never stopped.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
PHOTO ESSAY: Iranians struggled with quiet moments of fear and anxiety for 12 days of war
For 12 days, Tehran fell dark and silent, except for the sound of explosions. In their houses and apartments, Iranians tried to pass the hours — sleepless, eyes on the TV for news of the war. A series of images document the moments in which residents of Iran's capital struggled to hold onto something familiar amid the uncertainty. They were taken by a freelance photographer and obtained by The Associated Press outside of Iran. The AP is publishing them on condition of anonymity over fears for the photographer's safety. The photos, made under unpredictable and often unsafe conditions amid evacuation alerts and falling missiles, show the tension between normalcy and chaos. Israel said its campaign aimed to cripple Iran's nuclear facilities, which its officials maintain are for peaceful means. Israel's strikes also pounded buildings around Tehran, while Iran fired back with barrages into Israel. A ceasefire began June 24. For 12 days, Tehran was transformed. The city normally bustles at all hours, its highways packed with cars and apartment towers lit up. During the war, most of the population fled. At night, blackness descended on the city. Those who remained largely stayed indoors. Outside their windows came the rhythm of explosions — sometimes distant, sometimes close enough to shake them — and the crackle of air defenses. One night, a group of friends gathered for dinner at a Tehran home. The table was full, the atmosphere warm. Guests joked with one another. But even as they dished up food and sat down in the living room to eat, everyone was glued to the television for any news. The next night, one of the largest and most powerful explosions in Tehran struck a short distance from where they had gathered. For Sara, a 9-year-old Afghan girl, reading and drawing in her sketchbook helped her endure the days at home. She sat on the living room floor with her markers, turning to see the TV. Her family fled to Iran to escape the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan four years ago; now during Israel's campaign, they were living through a new war. The family stayed inside not just for fear of strikes. They also worried they might be detained and deported amid wartime suspicion of Afghan refugees among some. 'Afghanistan is my homeland, and so is Iran. I have two countries that feel like one,' Sara said. On one page of her sketchbook, she wrote, 'Mursal, I love you, my dear' — a message for her best friend, whose family fled back to Afghanistan during the bombardment. Sara and others are only being identified by their first names out of concern for their security. During the day, some might step outside between blasts, capturing smoke rising in the distance with their phones. After one strike hit a building, a puddle of blood remained on the street. Evacuation alerts often came late at night. Some people spent nights in subway stations for safety. They lay down sheets and blankets on the tile floor or sat on the steps, scrolling through their phones as fighter jets and explosions could be heard on the streets above. Maryam and daughter Mastaneh live in a middle-class Tehran neighborhood. During the war, their usually active home fell quiet; both became anxious and withdrawn. Before the war, Maryam would wake at 6 a.m., go to the gym, then head to work at a hotel. But once the bombardment began, the hotel closed. Maryam's workout routine fell apart. She couldn't sleep at night and wound up waking late in the day. Depressed and exhausted, she couldn't bring herself to do housework. Meanwhile Mastaneh, a university student studying French, struggled with the internet cutoffs that made it nearly impossible to take her online final exams. One explosion from a strike blasted only a few blocks away. The war's final day was the most terrifying, Maryam said, as the sound of explosions never stopped.
CBS News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
On the ground in Tehran in the wake of the Israel-Iran ceasefire
On the ground in Tehran in the wake of the Israel-Iran ceasefire Tehran — As the delicate ceasefire in the Israel-Iran conflict continues to hold, a CBS News crew received permission to enter Iran Wednesday to see how conditions are on the ground in its capital of Tehran. The Iranian government maintains tight control over its media and closely monitors foreign journalists. It took a CBS News crew more than 14 hours to drive south from Turkey to Tehran. The crew started its journey from the Turkish-Iranian border Tuesday night local time, a nearly 600-mile trip made longer by checkpoints and bad roads. CBS News applied for Iranian visas last week and they were granted Monday. As day broke Wednesday, CBS News travelled through a vast countryside that was arid, rocky and seemingly endless. CBS News was forced to drive in because even though there is a ceasefire that took effect earlier this week, Iran's airspace was closed, but has since partially reopened. Those with means have either fled to neighboring countries or found safety away from major cities. Lines of cars at a gas station in Iran due to a gas shortage as a result of the Israel-Iran war. June 25, 2025. CBS News The war has triggered chronic fuel shortages. CBS News saw long lines at gas stations as people waited hours to fill their tanks. CBS News reached Tehran to find a city slowly coming back to life after 12 days of near constant Israeli strikes. CBS News needed government permission to visit areas that were heavily damaged by the Israeli strikes, something it did not receive Wednesday. Last week, President Trump urged the entire city of Tehran, a population of more than nine million people — roughly that of New York City — to evacuate. Most remained, and with the ceasefire still in place, some have started to venture out of their homes. At Firdous Park, a historic meeting spot for Iranian thinkers and writers, a few of the cafés and restaurants had reopened and attracted students like 32-year-old Mohammed Raziq. People at a cafe in the Iranian capital of Tehran on June 25, 2025. CBS News "I hope it's going to be continued," Raziq said of the ceasefire. "You know, war is not good, and my people don't like wars." Still, life in Tehran remains far from normal. This metropolis is the seat of power of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who still looms large, including at near daily rallies by hardline supporters. But Khamenei has continued to remain out of sight. And until he addresses the nation, the Iranians CBS News spoke to say they feel they don't know what might happen next. Raziq indicated that even if Iranians are divided about the regime, they are united about the belief in their country. "People in Iran have many ideas, but about war, they have one heart," Raziq said. "This is how I think about my people." In the Iranian capital of Tehran on June 25, 2025. CBS News
Wall Street Journal
14-06-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Israeli Strikes Sow Fear and Anxiety in Tehran
For two nights, people in Tehran have been shaken from their sleep by the sounds of explosions, as Israel targeted the country's nuclear facilities and top military leadership. A 42-year-old woman in Tehran said one of the worst things about the attacks is that they usually come without warning. No air-raid sirens sound before the strikes. 'We just find ourselves in an attack,' she said.
