How has life changed for Iranians six months into the war?

Tehran, Iran – More than six months into the US-Israel war on Iran, the quality of life for most Iranians has deteriorated. Iran’s military and political establishment has managed to adapt to the changing circumstances the war has brought without making any major concessions to its ideological principles. For most of the country’s 90 million people, life has become a daily struggle.

The war started on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes that saw the assassination of then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as key figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other state bodies. Despite this, the government remained in place with the late leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, selected as the country’s supreme leader but remaining out of the public glare, while other military commanders were also replaced. Within the establishment, there is a split between those who want a diplomatic resolution to the war and others wishing to fight until the US backs away in defeat.

But all agree there will be no “capitulation” to the United States and Israel. Iran says it has reached an understanding with Oman over opening a transit route in the Strait of Hormuz, where sea traffic has been a trickle of pre-war levels due to Iranian and US attacks. But US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly opposed to the deal and favours the full and unrestricted reopening of the strait.

Significant disagreements remain outstanding over Iran’s nuclear programme and a host of other issues. International mediators continue to make efforts to revive talks between the US and Iran, but there is no breakthrough in sight while Washington has imposed its toughest-ever sanctions against Tehran. Some of the supporters of the Iranian government, who continue to gather in small numbers in the streets of Tehran and other cities every night, backed by armed forces, are in favour of resuming the conflict with the US and want to concede no ground to Washington.

But many in Iran, including parts of the cash-strapped government of President Masoud Pezeshkian, are wary of continuing the conflict, which has killed more than 3,500 people in the country, destroyed large parts of civilian infrastructure, and left businesses and the population in a state of prolonged limbo. It’s an exhausting loop.” After decades of mismanagement and corruption, as well as sanctions and external pressure, the Iranian economy is currently operating at a fraction of its potential. Iran has been in a state of “no war, no peace” for most of the past two years, interspersed with two wars with the US and Israel and the blockades.

Given this situation, few are optimistic about Iran’s economic future. In the fifth Iranian month of Mordad that ended on August 22, the Statistical Center of Iran reported that inflation was 89 percent higher year-on-year, with food inflation standing at more than 127 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. Bijan, who works as a data analyst in a technology firm in downtown Tehran, said his salary was equivalent to more than $1,000 per month about three years ago when he started at the company, but inflation has eaten into his salary.