Total repression and air strikes bring unrelenting dread for Iranians

A woman stands on a rooftop listening to the sounds of the city below.

“- Published A woman stands on a rooftop listening to the sounds of the city below”

BBC

There is only the dull hum of traffic tonight.

BBC

But she knows how easily that can change.

It is usually the dogs who notice the sound first and begin to bark furiously.

The noise of aircraft.

Then the ominous percussion of explosions.

A ball of orange rising from an airstrike in a familiar neighbourhood.

The BBC has obtained footage and interviews from Tehran which evoke a city of strained nerves, of constant waiting for the next blast and relentless fear of the state security apparatus.

Like so many young Iranians, Baran saw her hopes of change devastated in recent months.

“- Published A woman stands on a rooftop listening to the sounds of the city below”

BBC

Thousands of people were killed in a crackdown by regime forces in January after widespread demonstrations demanding change.

The citizens of this 6,000-year-old city are living in dread of American and Israeli bombs.

Of the regime and its torturers.

BBC

A daily unrelenting dread from which there is no sign of escape.