Teachers are openly weeping over slain students during recess, while college students are boycotting final exams as a tribute to fallen classmates. Many young Iranians are grappling with intense survivor’s guilt.
Mariam, a 54-year-old designer, described her constant fear when her teenage son leaves home, knowing that his friends and classmates were shot and killed during the recent protests.
“The truth is that we are feeling extremely unwell,” she shared. “I have never experienced this level of collective grief and instability. We genuinely don’t know what the next hour will bring.” (Like many interviewed, Mariam requested anonymity due to fears of government retaliation.)
While the visible street protests against Iran’s authoritarian clerical rulers have ceased, many Iranians report that a pervasive sense of rage against the government and deep anxiety about the future colors every aspect of their lives. Nothing, they say, feels normal anymore.
The government’s relentless crackdown and arrests of dissidents, including prominent reformist political figures, further fuel the belief that the conflict is far from over.
Adding to the internal strife, Iran’s leaders face mounting international pressure. President Trump has positioned U.S. warships near Iranian waters, signaling potential military action if ongoing nuclear and military capability talks between Washington and Tehran fail to reach an agreement.
Teachers express that both they and their students are deeply traumatized. Nafiseh, a 35-year-old high school teacher in Tehran, recounted how she and her colleagues often shed tears during recess as they discuss the uprising.
“The students are incredibly distracted and fearful,” she noted, adding, “At the slightest sound of an ambulance siren or an airplane, they visibly tremble.”
Iran’s government attributes the protest deaths to terrorist cells, allegedly linked to the United States and Israel. Officials claim that armed infiltrators necessitated a militarized response and were responsible for killing many protesters.
However, over a hundred videos and images, verified by independent investigations, document the extensive violence employed by the government, including footage of security forces in uniform and on motorcycles directly firing at unarmed demonstrators.
The government announced approximately 3,400 fatalities, including 200 children and minors, 100 college students, and at least 500 security officers.
An image from last month captured a billboard in Tehran, Iran, displaying the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside the Islamic Republic’s founding leader. (Photo: Vahid Salemi/Associated Press)
Human rights organizations, such as U.S.-based HRANA, report that at least 7,000 protesters were killed, with numbers expected to climb as more deaths are confirmed.
This unprecedented death toll—mostly occurring over three nights in early January—marks the deadliest unrest in Iran’s modern history, according to rights groups and historians, leaving many Iranians in a state of shock.
Some therapists are offering free online workshops to help citizens cope with the widespread trauma.
Psychologists observe that their patients are exhibiting chronic anxiety, profound anger, and deep mistrust.
“In recent weeks, the emotional atmosphere in Iran has changed dramatically,” Dr. Bita Bavadi, a Tehran-based psychologist, wrote in an email. “In my clinical work, I observe an intense mixture of anger, fear, helplessness, and unprocessed collective grief.”
The looming threat of war with the United States, which has deployed naval warships near Iran’s territorial waters, adds another layer of pervasive uncertainty.
President Trump has stated that if Iran does not agree to a deal suspending its nuclear program and limiting its missile range, he would consider military strikes. He has also openly suggested that a change of regime in Iran would be beneficial.
Iranians, whether they support or oppose the current government, openly debate the possibility of a U.S.-led war and whether the current regime and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could withstand such a conflict.
“The priorities of the people are different from the priorities of their rulers,” Mohamad Renany, a cleric critical of the government’s crackdown, stated on social media.
“When the people’s priority is bread, and the regime’s priority is political ideologies and extreme interpretations of its own beliefs, a serious confrontation arises between the people and the regime,” he elaborated.
Another striking image, shared on social media last month and verified by Reuters, depicted vehicles ablaze during the Tehran protests. (Photo: via Reuters)
Some Iranians, consumed by anger and despair over the possibility of internal change, openly advocate for U.S. military intervention to liberate them from the current regime.
Conversely, others vehemently oppose war, fearing it would trigger even greater instability, displacement, and violence.
Military personnel were observed at a rally in Tehran this month, commemorating the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, as captured by Vahid Salemi/Associated Press.
Kamran, a 49-year-old businessman, admitted that the violence he witnessed during the protests irrevocably altered his perspective on war.
“After the massacre, many of us feel we are prey in the hands of a predator, not people living under a government’s rule,” he explained. “So our eyes are to the sky, hoping bombs will kill them and Iran will be free.”
Elaheh, 52, from Tehran, expressed in an interview that despite her opposition to the clerical rulers, she stands against foreign military interference, arguing that democracy cannot be achieved through bombs.
“We have enough problems,” she lamented. “We cannot endure a war that may destroy our infrastructure, divide our country, and kill even more people.”
Iran’s economy, already in a dire state due to international sanctions and corruption, has suffered further blows since the uprising began in late December. The national currency is in free fall, and government-imposed internet shutdowns have severely hampered commerce.
Reza Alefnasb, head of the union for e-commerce workers, informed Iranian media that those earning their livelihoods online have seen an 80 percent drop in income. He also noted that ongoing internet disruptions combined with war uncertainty are causing Iranians to drastically reduce spending on non-essential items.
Sattar Hashemi, the telecommunications minister, reported to Iranian media last week that digital businesses are losing $3 million daily, and the country’s economy as a whole is losing $35 million per day since the uprising began.
Many small business owners specializing in handicrafts, baking, fashion, and music took to social media last week, pleading with people to make purchases to help them stay afloat. Some mentioned suspending work out of respect for the slain protesters, but acknowledged this is not a sustainable long-term solution.
Reza Badri, an accountant at a furniture store, shared in an interview that sales have virtually halted for the past month, leading owners to lay off workers and downsize production. He posted on social media, seeking connections with exporters outside Iran.
“The killing of so many of my countrymen, many of them my own age, and the sky-high prices are wearing us out mentally, emotionally, and physically,” Mr. Badri stated.
Sephideh, 35, an English teacher in Tehran, revealed in an interview that her virtual classes have been entirely canceled due to internet disruptions, leaving her without income for over a month.
“I cry almost every day and feel like I’m in the most vulnerable state possible,” she confessed. “At the same time, I also feel anger.”