Life in Tehran Continues With Some Normalcy During Ongoing Conflict

Life in Tehran has continued with a degree of normalcy during the conflict with the United States and Israel that began two months ago, according to a reporter who spent six weeks in the Iranian capital. Ali Hashem, who works for Al Jazeera and has visited Iran for nearly two decades as a correspondent for the BBC and other outlets, told Foreign Policy that shops, malls and restaurants remain open in many areas.

People appear to be adapting to the situation in a manner similar to the normalization seen during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, he said. Hashem arrived in Tehran 10 days after the war began. By that time, many residents who had initially left the city had returned.

Some families relocated to northern areas or changed sleeping locations as a precaution while others remained to maintain work and daily routines.

The atmosphere in Tehran differed markedly from Hashem's visit in February, which came days after protests in which the Iranian government reported at least 3,500 people killed. Before the war, some residents spoke openly about anticipating conflict as a potential solution to internal issues, Hashem said.

After the war started, even some who had opposed the government expressed a focus on national defense. "This is a war, and right now we need to concentrate on war, on how to defend our country," he quoted people as saying. Hashem observed people gathering daily in public squares with their families, including at early morning hours, to demonstrate solidarity despite the risk of further strikes.

International journalists from several outlets, including Al Jazeera, the BBC, CNN and Channel 4, have been able to report from Iran during the conflict. Hashem said he and his colleagues moved freely without official escorts, though he noted people may have exercised some caution in conversations after the earlier protests.

The global internet remains shut down, but a local intranet provides access to Iranian versions of services such as Netflix, Uber and WhatsApp. This has helped maintain a semblance of ordinary activity, according to the reporter. Hashem said the observed behavior aligns with a rally-around-the-flag effect in response to external attacks.

People told him they would resume protesting the system once the war ended but saw supporting the country as the immediate priority. He described the phenomenon as distinctive, noting that in two decades of covering conflicts in places including Lebanon, Gaza and Libya, he had not previously seen residents under bombardment gathering publicly with children on a sustained basis.