Iranians across the country are enduring a month of relentless bombing and economic hardship, with many unable to sleep as the war continues to intensify. According to BBC reports, one woman from Tehran, who goes by the name Setareh, said, ‘I haven’t slept for several nights and days in a row.’ She described the chaos of hearing an ominous noise and vibrations in her office, prompting her and her colleagues to flee to the roof, fearing a bomb.

War’s Economic Impact

Setareh, a young woman from Tehran, is now struggling with both the physical and emotional toll of the conflict. She said, ‘The anxiety is so intense that it has affected my body,’ as she relies on strong painkillers to find any rest. The war has cost her her job and left her running out of money, mirroring the plight of millions of Iranians facing similar challenges.

Even before the war, Iran’s economy was in a deep crisis, with food prices rising by 60% in the previous year. Setareh described the mounting desperation as people run out of resources to survive. ‘We cannot afford even basic food. What’s in our pockets does not match market prices,’ she said, adding that the long-standing sanctions and internal problems of the Islamic Republic have left people with no savings to rely on.

The economic hardship has already spurred massive nationwide protests in late 2025 and early 2026. Setareh believes such protests could happen again, stating, ‘I don’t know how this massive wave of unemployment will be handled. There is no support system and the government will do nothing for all these unemployed people.’

Healthcare Under Threat

Tina, a nurse in a hospital outside Tehran, is worried about the growing shortages of medicine. ‘The most important issue is that this war must not reach hospitals,’ she said, describing the terrifying scenes she has witnessed. ‘In the aftermath of bombings, bodies arrived at the hospital that were not recognizable… some had no hands, some had no legs – it was horrifying.’

Tina recounted the harrowing case of a pregnant young woman caught in an air strike early in the war. ‘Because of bombardment in her area – her home was close to a military centre – their house was damaged. When they brought her to the hospital, neither the mother nor the foetus was alive. Both had died. She had been just two months away from giving birth but sadly neither she nor her baby survived.’

These experiences are deeply personal for Tina, as her mother was pregnant with her during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. ‘Hearing those stories always made me stop and think, to imagine myself in those circumstances and place myself in her situation. Now, I find myself in the same kind of situation my mother once faced. I cannot believe how quickly history repeats itself.’

Repression and Resistance

Public dissent in Iran is extremely dangerous, with the regime deploying internal security forces and loyal supporters to patrol the streets. During January’s anti-government demonstrations, the regime killed thousands of its own citizens. Behnam, a former political prisoner, believes the regime would easily do the same again.

Behnam, who is still in hiding after being shot during the last protests, keeps a supply of antibiotics and painkillers in his flat. He showed an X-ray of his torso, revealing metal fragments lodged in his body from the incident. ‘Once you see how easily your life can be threatened – that a simple incident or a twist of fate can mean death or survival – after that, your life no longer holds the same value for you. And that experience makes you care less about yourself.’

Behnam grew up hearing stories of regime violence from his parents. ‘We all grew up knowing someone talented in our family – a cousin, an uncle, an aunt – whose future was destroyed just because another relative had been involved in banned political activity,’ he said. ‘I will not heal until the day we are free and in a free world [can] look back on the suffering we endured in an unfree world, and in the end laugh at it. I am certain that day will come.’

As the war continues and US President Donald Trump threatens to bomb Iran ‘back to the stone ages,’ the time of laughter seems very far away for those enduring the current crisis. The BBC’s reporting highlights the deepening despair and resistance among Iranians, as the conflict enters its second month with no clear end in sight.