‘I just want to be able to sleep’: Attacks in Iran rock cities and cut power

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Ghoncheh Habibiazad,BBC Persianand

Mallory Moench

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AFP via Getty Images

Smoke plumes billowed following strikes near Azadi Tower in western Tehran on Monday night

Iranians have told BBC Persian that they are exhausted and struggling to sleep after 10 days of Israeli and US attacks, as explosions “every few hours” rocked Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj overnight and cut power.

“I was in total darkness last night,” one man in his 30s from Tehran said, while others reported temporary blackouts or power fluctuations.

“I’m feeling terrible. They hit a street near us today. I just want to be able to sleep tonight,” a man in his 20s in the capital said.

Another in his 20s in Tehran said “we’re still alive,” but added that “where missiles hit is getting closer and closer every day.”

On Monday evening, the Israeli military announced that it had begun a “broad wave of strikes against terror targets in Tehran”.

The military said on Tuesday morning that it had targeted an underground complex used by the Revolutionary Guards for weapons research, infrastructure within the main headquarters of the Quds Force, the Guards’ overseas operations arm, and other weapons and defence production sites.

Another “wave of strikes” was launched in Tehran on Tuesday afternoon, according to the military.

Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran on 28 February, prompting retaliatory Iranian missile and drone strikes against Israel and targets in Middle Eastern countries hosting US military bases and embassies.

On Monday, the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) reported that 1,761 people had been killed in Iran - including at least 1,245 civilians, 194 of them children - since the war started.

Access to Iran for journalists is restricted and the BBC has not been able to independently verify figures and events from inside the country.

Supplied

The Israeli military said it had struck “terror targets” in the Iranian capital

Internet connectivity in Iran has been almost entirely restricted, but BBC Persian has been hearing from residents, who we are not naming for their safety.

The man in his 30s in Tehran who reported “total darkness” overnight said: “The electricity went out and I had no idea what was happening”.

“They hit hard last night. All you can see in our house are cracks in the walls. Sleeping has become the hardest thing for me.”

Two other Tehran residents said they had experienced electricity fluctuations, while another man in his 30s in the capital said the power went out for around 30 minutes.

“I just want this to end once and for all,” he said.

One Tehran resident in his 30s said strikes were happening for “20 minutes in a row” at one point over Monday night.

“I am tired,” he said. “Every bit of routine I had is now gone. I either can’t do them or don’t have the motivation to carry them out.”

A woman in her 20s in Tehran said there were explosions “every few hours” and a strange white light in the sky that seemed different than nights before.

However, she said, “even if it takes a few weeks now, it’s still better than spending a lifetime living with this system”, reflecting the sentiment of those who want to see an end to the Islamic Republic.

Mamlekate

The impact of explosions on a block of flats in Tehran

Some in Karaj, which also experienced strikes and power cuts, felt similarly.

A man in his 30s in the city, which is 30 km (20 miles) west of Tehran, said there were some fluctuations and a “blue light” in the sky on Monday night.

A video published by BBC Persian from Karaj shows booms upon the horizon, as the night sky lights up with blue and red glows.

The man said he would “tolerate this situation as long as the regime is gone”.

A mother and middle class restaurateur in her 50s, who lives in the Mehrshahr residential neighbourhood of Karaj, said there was a strike near her home overnight, “the closest place to us, and we truly felt the shadow of death over our heads”.

“But we are standing firm until the end to survive and to be free. Even if we are killed, it honestly does not matter compared to the lives that have already been lost in the hope of victory,” she said.

A woman in her 40s from Tehran also said: “I’m very sad about what has happened to the city, but I hope it ends well for the people of Iran. I hope to see them [officials] gone.”

Others who spoke to the BBC were not so defiant, or hopeful.

A man in his 20s from Karaj said: “I’m getting tired of this situation. The whole war is overwhelming. Some scenarios for the future and for the people of Iran are truly frightening.”

The man in his 20s in Tehran who described how missiles were coming closer daily said he had been shot in the eye during the anti-government protests in December and January. HRANA has reported that at least 6,480 protesters were killed and 25,000 others injured in a brutal crackdown by security forces.

“We are the victims,” he said. “I have been harmed by the Islamic Republic, and because of it a war is now happening that is harming us again.”

Additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad

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