Tehran, Iran. Long queues formed at petrol stations and some Iranians began leaving cities on Saturday amid fear after reported U.S. and Israeli strikes and explosions in Tehran.
Explosions in Tehran and warnings of further attacks
Explosions rocked Tehran on Saturday morning and columns of smoke rose into the sky, shaking the city at the start of the Iranian working week. One man, speaking to Reuters from the capital, said he was rushing to get his children from school.
Iran’s top security body said it expected attacks to continue in Tehran and some other cities, urging people to “travel to other cities where possible so that you may remain safe from the harm of these two regimes’ acts of aggression.” It said schools and universities would be closed until further notice.
Witnesses said security forces blocked roads in an area of Tehran home to the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and parliament.
Residents report panic buying and difficulties accessing cash
Witnesses said people were rushing to buy hard currency. In Isfahan, another area where attacks were reported, some said they were unable to withdraw cash from ATMs.
Talks in Geneva and divided reactions among Iranians
The attacks came after the latest round of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Geneva on Thursday failed to secure a breakthrough over Tehran’s nuclear programme, though Omani mediators had reported progress.
“They said the nuclear talks are going well. They fooled us again,” said a resident of Tehran.
Opinions among Iranians were divided. Minou, a 32-year-old mother of two from the northern city of Tabriz, where explosions were reported, said she feared for her children. “We are scared, we are terrified. My children are shaking, we have nowhere to go, we will die here,” she said.
A resident of the central city of Yazd said he hoped the attack would topple the clerical establishment that has run the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “Let them bomb,” he said.
Samira Mohebbi, speaking from the northern city of Rasht, said she opposed the current leadership but did not want Iran attacked. “I am against this regime, to hell with them. But I don’t want my country to be attacked by foreign forces, I don’t want my Iran to turn into Iraq,” she said.
How have the reported strikes affected daily life where you live?