Iranians Struggle to Survive Amid War and US Blockade

Tehran, Iran – Months after the war with the United States and a fresh round of fighting with Israel, daily conversations in Iran revolve around war and economic survival.

Residents of the capital Tehran have gone to work over the past two days with anxiety over the fighting, as US President Donald Trump repeatedly references a peace deal nearly concluded despite clashes between Iran and Israel.

A 33-year-old office worker in western Tehran said people remain alert and check their phones, but no longer rush outside after hearing a loud explosion from a distance on Monday afternoon, followed by at least two more before dawn.

“You get used to it to some extent and keep working, chatting as if everything is normal, but the truth is nothing is normal at all,” he told Al Jazeera, asking to remain unnamed.

Israeli forces struck Tehran and other cities, as well as a petrochemical complex in the western city of Bandar-e Mahshahr, after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for the attack on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, the Dahiyeh area.

Israeli leaders say they are paving the way for future strikes, and Iran warns of heavier attacks if Lebanon is not spared, but missile launches have paused. Meanwhile, Iran and the US exchanged night-time fire for over a week before the strikes, and Washington continues to enforce a blockade that further cripples Iran’s already weak economy.

Late Tuesday, Trump accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, saying America “must respond” to the incident.

In a small cafe in central Tehran, a young digital marketing specialist said she does not believe Iran and the US can reach a long-term solution, meaning the future will only become more uncertain.

“The two sides don’t get along,” she said. “How can they reach a deal when one side says one thing and the other says something completely different?”

A fitness trainer argued the two sides might announce a temporary agreement, but he believed that is not good news for many Iranians either.

“At best, it can only delay things until after the World Cup, or for a few more months, and that will be a few months when things become harder for us as we try to live a normal life,” he told Al Jazeera, adding he believes the conflict will resume after that.

‘Getting beaten’

Meanwhile, maintaining a previous standard of living or simply surviving in a rapidly deteriorating economy has become harder and more unpredictable for everyone.

The cafe owner said he has removed some items from the menu due to price fluctuations and declining demand.

He now pays roughly 2.5 times more for a kilogram of coffee compared to just three weeks ago, and cannot predict what will happen three weeks from now. Less than four years ago, he paid 20 times less.

“I get a headache watching the news and hearing Trump say they could reach a deal in two days or two weeks. All I know is I’m getting beaten,” he said.

“People I talk to regularly for work – butchers, bakers, grocery store owners and customers – are all complaining. Many sellers say the prices they are selling at are constantly lagging behind the price of their next purchase.”

Iran’s economy was already facing chronic inflation, rooted in corruption, mismanagement, and the cumulative impact of US sanctions that isolated the country from many international markets.

But damage from the war and blockade has rapidly worsened the situation, with annual inflation exceeding 83% by the end of May. Food inflation stood at 130% at the same time, according to the Statistical Center of Iran, with many essentials like cooking oil and eggs having more than quadrupled compared to last year.

As images of Iranian missiles flying from Kermanshah and elsewhere toward Israel flooded social media late Sunday, many feared the authorities would again cut internet access.

“I bought 10 gigs [of data] and had two backups,” a young man living in western Tehran told Al Jazeera about preparing for a possible internet outage on Monday – referring to VPN connections that can bypass censorship. The blackout did not occur, but internet remains heavily restricted.

Limited internet traffic and access were only restored at the end of May, after three months of near-total shutdown by the authorities based on vague security considerations. Some officials and state supporters have criticized the government of President Masoud Pezeshkian for not maintaining a complete blackout until the war ends.

At night on the streets, state-supporting protesters still gather under security cover, waving flags and chanting anti-US and Israel slogans, but in smaller numbers than at the start of the war.