Bombs are pounding Tehran. Smoke hangs over Iran’s capital. Some streets are almost deserted. But Reza is still driving his cab every day, looking for business.
“The other day the explosion was so powerful that one side of my car actually lifted off the ground,” he said, describing a bombing in Tehran’s western Chitgar area, where he had gone to pick up a passenger.
Reza, who asked to use his first name so he could speak freely, is one of thousands of Tehranis who are working through the constant Israeli and US air raids to make sure the city keeps going under bombardment.
Builders are busy fixing potholes, bakers open at dawn and taxi drivers thread through streets as pillars of smoke rise up to the sky. Many of those sheltering from bombing in their homes, too fearful to venture outside, can turn to bike couriers for deliveries of food and essentials.
For most of the workers, continuing with the day job is not a matter of patriotism or charity but simple survival. “Without a daily income, how am I supposed to buy food for my family?” Reza said.
Nasser, a television repairman, said he had received “hundreds of calls” from clients across Tehran who were confined to their homes and wanted “their satellite television channels tuned” to follow what is happening.
Without technicians such as Nasser, many of those in the capital of Iran are left to a near-information blackout, with access to the internet restricted and satellite TV jammed by the state. Most updates on the war would otherwise only be via state TV propaganda or the heavily controlled domestic intranet.
“We are left to our own mercy under nonstop bombing, with no alert sirens, shelters or any kind of protection, and without access to the outside world,” said Nadia, a student who has been forced to stay home after universities were closed.
Tehranis were over the weekend left under a canopy of smoke after Israel struck oil storage facilities in overnight strikes. Residents were urged to stay indoors to avoid toxic acid rain. Outside, black oily stains were visible on cars and surfaces.
Since then, long lines have formed at petrol stations; some Tehranis are waiting several hours to get a 20-litre ration of petrol, a third less than the normal quota. Officials insist supplies will be restored within days.
Concerns over crime have also grown in the capital after air strikes hit police stations and law enforcement centres. Many houses are vacant after their residents fled to safer cities.
As worries over burglaries have risen, authorities have insisted the city remains secure. Tehran’s police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said officers had been “authorised to open fire” to tackle intruders or burglars “to protect people’s property in wartime”.
With Nowruz, the Persian New Year, less than two weeks away, markets that would normally be bustling with shoppers are largely empty.
More businesses have reopened since Saturday, the first working day of the Iranian week, and many stores remain open and well-stocked.
But since Sunday banks and state administration offices have started operating with 20 per cent staffing, with all female employees authorised to work from home.
Authorities claim the country’s fuel reserves are secure, ports are operating normally and cargo continues to be unloaded. The government has also pledged that salaries and pensions will be paid on time while emergency teams stand ready to respond to disruptions to water and electricity.
Municipal workers could be seen at work in parts of the capital. “We haven’t been sent home yet,” said one worker fixing street curbs in western Tehran. “They’ve told us to keep working.”
Security forces maintained a heavy presence on the streets, with armed units setting up checkpoints and inspecting vehicles throughout the city.
Alongside supporters of the Islamic republic, they have taken part in night-time manoeuvres across many cities. In Tehran, groups of regime supporters have been patrolling neighbourhoods, sometimes accompanied by military vehicles, chanting slogans, waving national flags and using loudspeakers to broadcast wartime rhetoric.
In Tajrish square, a main public space in northern Tehran, a commander from a police special unit reassured the crowd and urged them not to fret over rumours of a foreign ground invasion.
“No one would even dare think they could enter this country,” he told the gathering, with armoured vehicles lined up around the square. “We are all standing strong. So many Basij [paramilitaries], intelligence and police forces have left their families to stand here and ensure that the country’s security is not undermined.”
Traffic patterns suggested some Tehran residents were returning home after being away for a week. On Saturday, the Chalus road, linking Tehran to the coastal cities on the Caspian Sea, was temporarily turned into a one-way route towards the capital.
Akbar, a fruit vendor selling fruit from his pick-up truck, said he was constantly worried about his family in Afsariyeh, an eastern Tehran neighbourhood that has seen some of the heaviest bombardment in recent days.
“I keep thinking about all the destruction pushing the country back 50 years,” he said. “Who is going to pay to rebuild this land when the war is over? I have no doubt they will take it out of our own pockets.”
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