LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Today marks six months since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran. Throughout this time, NPR's Arezou Rezvani has been in touch with people inside Iran, chronicling their lives and views as the war has shifted from airstrikes to negotiations to economic war. The constant through all of this has been fear, which is why everyone she spoke to asked NPR not to use their names in case they are punished by the regime for speaking honestly. Arezou joins me now to talk about this. Good morning.
AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: So I'm thinking back to the night Trump announced this war and how he vowed the end of Iran's regime.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.
FADEL: So those bombs start dropping, and very soon after, you're in touch with people inside Iran. What were they saying to you?
REZVANI: Yeah. I mean, I knew Iran was going to cut the internet because they have a record of doing that during periods of crisis. So I quickly reached out to all of my contacts to see first, you know, if they were OK, and also to get their first impressions. And as I was talking to people in those opening hours of the war, news suddenly broke.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Iran's supreme leader is now dead.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: The U.S. and Israel say they targeted Khamenei and the rest of Iran's top leadership in massive strikes.
REZVANI: Many of the people I was communicating with - they were ecstatic.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: So very happy. I'm excited. Oh my God. I'm shaking.
REZVANI: And others were really, really nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I'm still concerned because we don't know what's going to happen next. I hope that the next person in charge is more rational and brings this war and this chaos to an end.
FADEL: It's sad, hearing his hopes, knowing what we know now. I mean, this war has dragged on for six months. It's chaos, attacks and counterattacks, Iran taking control of the Strait of Hormuz.
REZVANI: Yeah, and all of that with a leader in place who many analysts regard as much more hard-line. So here we are six months later. The Islamic Republic endures. And the new leaders have chosen not to end the chaos, as that man you heard a moment ago hoped they would. Instead, they've unleashed more of it. I remember this one voice memo I got from a woman in Tehran.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Speaking Persian).
REZVANI: And she explained how Iranian state TV was proudly televising images of missiles getting past Israel's defenses. And the only feeling that evoked for her was jealousy - jealousy that Israel had warning systems and sirens and shelters and all these protections for its people, while Iran, despite all their talk of war over so many years, hadn't bothered to do the same for its people.
FADEL: So a feeling of abandonment from their government.
REZVANI: Yeah. I'd say so. And it's not just abandonment by Iran's government, but also the U.S. and some Americans. I mean, Trump pretty quickly let go of this idea that Iranians would get to take over their government. But then you also had a lot of anti-war activists in the U.S. protesting the war in those early days.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) The war today.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Israel and the U.S.A.
REZVANI: Iran state media often showed those protests on their channels. And I remember this one woman in Iran sending me a voice note, so upset with the protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Speaking Persian).
REZVANI: She couldn't wrap her head around how they were only willing to see the U.S. as an imperialist power and not Iran, which has spent years building up proxy forces in the region and meddling in regional wars.
FADEL: I wonder. Now that this war has gone on so long, how are people inside Iran, especially those who were in favor of this war in the beginning - how are they doing now?
REZVANI: Not great. I mean, pretty much everyone inside the country - those who support the government, and there are many who still do - I've spoken with them - and those who don't support the government - all of them are struggling with a horrendous economy. People were already dealing with hyperinflation before the war, and now this U.S. naval blockade is really squeezing people.
A few days ago, one woman who lives in Tehran - she told me that she knows someone who has cancer. And hospitals have turned him away because they don't have the medicine - the treatments - he needs. And they can't replace broken medical equipment, since nothing is easily getting into the country.
The security situation has also grown worse. The state has become extremely paranoid in light of this war. There's been a surge in executions of people accused of spying or trying to overthrow the government. People are much more afraid than ever, which is why everyone asked not to be named in this piece and also why several people have told me in recent weeks that they can't continue communicating with me anymore. The risks are too great. The future is too uncertain. And they've essentially been silenced.
FADEL: NPR's Arezou Rezvani, who's been covering and speaking to people inside Iran since the beginning of this war six months ago. Thank you, Arezou.
REZVANI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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