In Tehran, hope for change turns to panic: 'They are turning the country into ruins'

Hoda was so furious over Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters in January that she wanted the country’s security forces to be attacked as payback.

Hoda was so furious over Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters in January that she wanted the country’s security forces to be attacked as payback. Then the bombs began to batter areas near her Tehran home.

“I was always against these people and thought it would be limited and finished fast,” she said of the U.S. and Israeli attacks. “I regret that and take it back. They are turning the country into ruins.”

Hoda, 40, like others interviewed for this article, asked that only her first name be used out of fear of arrest or harassment from security forces.

Since the war started, the U.S. and Israeli military have targeted multiple locations across the country, but it is in Tehran, a bustling, densely packed metropolis of 10 million people, where the strikes have been felt the most. As of Thursday, more than 1,200 people had been killed by Israeli and American strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

In addition to substantial damage to historical cultural sites in Tehran, like the ornate Golestan Palace, the targeting of oil facilities has added a surreal element to life in the capital, residents say, with thick smoke in the air and black rain coming down that has left a slimy residue on cars. Many people stay off the streets, where being stuck in two to three-hour traffic jams to cross the city was the norm before the war started.