What people in Iran are saying about the war and their government

[0:00] In recent days, the focus has been on the ceasefire with Iran, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, [0:05] and Israel's continued strikes in Lebanon. But less attention has been paid to the people inside [0:11] Iran, those who have borne the brunt of U.S. and Israeli attacks. What are they thinking about this [0:17] war and about the regime that governs them? For that, we turn now to Holly Dagrash. She's a senior [0:22] fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She spent her teenage years in Tehran and [0:28] now curates The Iranist. That's a weekly substack newsletter. Thanks for being here. [0:33] Thank you for having me. [0:34] So what are you hearing? What has daily life been like for people in Iran, the people that you've [0:39] been speaking with? [0:40] Well, I should note that there's been an Internet shutdown for now 41 days. It was state-imposed. [0:45] And so what's petering out of the country is mostly anecdotal. And what I'm hearing at this [0:49] juncture is that a lot of Iranians are confused about what's happening. There was this unprecedented [0:57] massacre in January. And then the president said that help was on the way. And then now [1:02] the ceasefire happens with the regime that they wanted ousted. And they're having to live [1:07] with that. But then there's also a sense of relief from Iranians that were anti-war to [1:12] begin with or maybe anti-war over time because they saw all these civilian casualties. There [1:17] have been at least 1,700, according to the group human rights activists in Iran. [1:21] You mentioned the president's rhetoric. That social media post earlier this week where [1:26] he said, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. [1:31] I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. How was that interpreted by people in [1:36] Iran? [1:36] So it really shook Iranians. I had Iranian Americans actually reaching out to me and saying, [1:44] is the president going to drop a nuclear weapon on our families in Iran? And then we had [1:48] the White House actually issue a statement saying that that wasn't going to be a reality. [1:53] But going back to my original point, I mean, you're saying you want to help the Iranian people [1:58] and oust the regime. And then you're threatening them with getting rid of them as an entire [2:04] civilization. And it didn't resonate well at all. There were reportedly Iranians fleeing the [2:09] capital to Iran, stocking up on food, water, electricity. Some people were saying that their [2:16] families were saying goodbye. They weren't necessarily sure that they'd have electricity [2:20] and they'd be able to contact the outside world or if they would even survive what was going to come [2:25] because they were staying up all till 3.30 a.m. Tehran time to see what was going to happen. So [2:31] I think it really irked a lot and scared a lot of Iranians across the board. [2:36] You mentioned before the war, there were Iranians who opposed the regime and welcomed outside pressure. [2:41] Has the way this war has progressed so far, has that changed their point of view? [2:47] I would say arguably yes. Again, we're dealing with the state-imposed internet shutdown. We're [2:52] not getting the full picture. But from what we're seeing is that just based off what the [2:56] president's rhetoric was before the war, during the war, and now with the ceasefire, it's not adding [3:02] up for Iranians. And I really, the big worry now is that yes, there's this, the war may end, [3:09] but now the Islamic Republic is going to take revenge on the Iranian people. We've seen [3:13] at least 1,500 people arrested. We've seen at least 10 executions. Some of those were [3:19] protesters during the January anti-regime uprising. And so there's a real worry about what's going to [3:25] be waiting for them because now the Islamic Republic is a rump regime, arguably more hardline, [3:31] more repressive, and now more emboldened because they've been able to survive this and have control [3:37] the Strait of Hormuz. When the president suggests that there are Iranians who want the U.S. strikes [3:42] to continue, are you hearing that at all? Or is that a misreading of what people actually want? [3:47] Well, you know, I heard that commentary. I think that initially, at least, there were some Iranians [3:52] that were feeling this way. But the goalposts of the war have changed. This isn't about the ouster [3:57] of the Islamic Republic. It seems like this is about, at this juncture, degrading its military [4:02] capabilities and leaving the people in a worse situation than they were originally. And so it's [4:07] hard to say that this is something that the Iranian people asked for. They've asked for the ouster of [4:11] the Islamic Republic, one that now apparently Vice President J.D. Vance and a team are going to be [4:18] meeting with Islamabad for talks. So I don't think this is what the Iranian people want. [4:23] Understanding that no group is a monolith, how has this war reshaped how ordinary Iranians view [4:30] the U.S. and view Israel? You know, for a long time, I've said that Iranians were arguably the [4:39] most pro-American in the Middle East, if not the world. And I'm not entirely sure how they're going [4:46] to feel after this war, assuming that the ceasefire holds because of what has happened over the past [4:53] few weeks. But I think that there's also a reality that Iranians know how to separate the government [4:59] of the United States from the American people, and they've always said that. And so I think that [5:04] we can't put one sort of thinking for Iranians, especially anti-regime Iranians. [5:11] Holly Dogris, thanks as always for your insights. [5:13] Thank you. [5:15] Support journalism you trust. Support PBS News. Donate now, or even better, start a monthly contribution today.