Two Tehrans: The parallel lives of a city
Submitted by MEE correspondent on Thu, 05/07/2026 - 14:38
Power on display, uneven hardship, and divergent perceptions of life in post-war Iran
An Iranian couple walks along a busy street in Tehran on 25 April 2026 (AFP) Off On a recent evening on a central street in Tehran, a street vendor knelt beside a set of clothing spread across the pavement, arranging small household items under the glare of passing headlights and honking cars.
He murmured quietly, more in complaint than conversation: “Look, this is our life now.”
Foot traffic moved unevenly around him, some slowing to look, others stepping past without pause.
A few metres away, across the same street, a crowd had been gradually gathering along the street, loudspeakers blaring. Flags were raised, music played, and slogans directed against the United States and Israel, alongside often patriotic songs, echoed into the night.
The two scenes unfolded simultaneously, in the same place. Yet they offered starkly different impressions of what life in Tehran currently looks like against a backdrop of rapid and disorienting escalation in recent months.
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Last June, Iran experienced a 12-day war with Israel, later involving the United States, the most direct large-scale confrontation in decades.
That episode was followed by an eruption of nationwide protests that were met with a violent crackdown and almost a month of near-total internet shutdown in January. Iranians again experienced a 40-day cycle of escalation only months later.
For years, Iranians' worries had centred on prolonged economic decline and tightening restrictions rather than sudden escalation into open conflict and sustained instability.
Together, these developments have altered not only daily life but the boundaries of what people believe can happen next.
First the protests, then the war
“Before all of this – the war, the destruction, seeing civilians caught up in it – we thought we just had to struggle with economic pressure, rising prices and growing restrictions,” Nafiseh, a language teacher, told Middle East Eye.
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“Life was already difficult, but we never imagined it could reach this point, or God forbid, even get worse.”
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When a fragile pause or ceasefire took hold in April, the economic impact remained visible. Strikes on industrial and petrochemical facilities, alongside broader instability, contributed to a more immediate sense of economic strain.
Residents describe the effects in practical terms: rising prices for basic goods, increasing costs of food and medicine, and shrinking purchasing power.
At the same time, job losses have risen sharply.
Some businesses were affected by damage to industrial sites or broader disruptions linked to the conflict period, while others struggled under prolonged internet restrictions – the world’s longest blackout – pushing parts of the workforce out of stable employment.
A small business owner in the manufacturing sector, whose customer base had previously been concentrated on Instagram, described a steady decline in business and increasing difficulty covering basic expenses following the instability of recent months.
“These past months have been heavy,” he said. “First the protests, then the war. After that, everything slowed down. Some days pass so slowly it feels like they never end.”
The latest war appears to have further strained an already deteriorating economy, leaving incomes increasingly unstable and making everyday life planning more uncertain.
That uncertainty is not only economic. It is also shaping how people think or react to the future.
A ride-hailing driver described how his 10-year-old daughter now follows international news about the possibility of renewed conflict.
“A child should be thinking about games,” he said, his tone shifting between frustration and disbelief, “not about war.”
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War of narratives
Nearby, at one of the recurring public gatherings that have expanded significantly over the past two months since the escalation period began, a woman holding a photograph of Iran’s new leadership urged people during an on-camera interview to endure hardship in order to protect national independence.
Similar messages framed the current moment not as a crisis, but as a test of “the true believers” resilience.
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These gatherings are widely understood as part of a broader effort by the establishment to maintain a visible presence in public spaces and project a sense of cohesion and control both domestically and externally.
They are largely organised or supported through state-linked institutions and networks, often accompanied by music, speeches, and distribution of food, combining logistical coordination with cultural and religious messaging.
Their meaning, however, is interpreted differently: for supporters, they represent unity and resistance. For them, the current situation is framed as temporary, manageable, or justified within a larger national or religious context.
“We won’t give in to pressure from the US or people like [Donald] Trump,” said one participant. “This is not just politics for us. It’s about defending our country and what we believe in. Being here is our way of showing support for those on the front line. We stand by our Nezam (system).”
For other residents, they are seen as staged displays of endurance under pressure and increasing strain in meeting everyday needs.
These differences are not only material, but perceptual, shaping how people understand hardship, stability, and what it means to endure.
Uneven access to information
In the meantime, access to information has also become uneven, with most residents facing heavy restrictions on connectivity except for heavily controlled domestic platforms or, more recently, getting access via VPN packages with astronomical prices.
Still, a smaller group, often with authorised or privileged access, retains more stable connectivity, allowing them to remain active in online spaces where events are debated, producing different informational environments within the same city.
'These past months have been heavy. First the protests, then the war, after that, everything slowed down. Some days pass so slowly it feels like they never end'
- Business owner
In this context, everyday life continues, but often under tension.
In many parts of the city, signs of relative stability remain visible: traffic continues to flow, restaurants are operating, and social life carries on. In markets and malls, people still circulate, though in smaller numbers.
A shopkeeper at a mall in northern Tehran described the change as something that has become more noticeable since the beginning of the year.
“People come in, they look, but they don’t buy like before,” he said.
Passersby occasionally challenge participants in public gatherings, questioning the disconnect between the displays of support and economic pressures felt elsewhere.
Open expressions of frustration are rare in public, shaped by a climate of caution and security presence.
Online, however, they often surface more clearly, even on state-approved platforms, where many users have been reluctantly driven by restrictions on access to global messaging apps.
“Politics needs thinking, not street slogans,” one user wrote. “What’s the point of standing in the streets shouting? If things go on like this and these people refuse to see reality, it’s our own lives that get smaller.”
Such remarks reflect not only disagreement, but fundamentally different ways of interpreting the same conditions.
Resilience: An everyday practice
As concerns about possible further escalation circulate, some try to push back against the growing anxiety.
“I know it’s hard,” said Hamid, an entrepreneur. “But worrying won’t change anything. We just have to get on with our lives.”
For many, this kind of adjustment has become routine. It does not resolve the tensions visible across the city, but it allows life to continue.
From a distance, the city appears continuous. Up close, it is composed of overlapping experiences.
The same street can hold both strain and affirmation.
In Tehran today, life goes on – not as a single shared condition, but as parallel realities unfolding within the same space.
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