Life of Iranian people after 6 months of war

Six months after the outbreak of hostilities, the lives of Iranians have been caught in a vicious cycle of conflict, ceasefires, and economic blockade.

“I just want a life that doesn’t involve constant conflict with other countries, isolation from the rest of the world, and having to figure out how to survive like this,” Marjan, a young woman in Tehran, told Al Jazeera on August 30, as the war with the United States entered its seventh month.

The conflict erupted on February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials. Despite these initial losses, Iran has maintained its leadership apparatus and adapted to the changes brought about by the war, while refusing to make concessions in negotiations with the United States.

Over the past six months, Iranians have had to continuously adapt to a limbo between war and peace, as essential infrastructure has been devastated and the economy strangled.

“I keep hoping for a peaceful life, only to be disappointed because we have no choice and must struggle to survive another day. It’s an exhausting loop,” Marjan said.

Iran’s economy is increasingly being strangled as the fighting drags on. According to the Iran Statistical Center, inflation rose 89% year-on-year over the past month, with food prices surging by 127%.

Esmaeil, a 37-year-old artist in Tehran, described Iranians as falling into a black hole. “People are hungry, confused, and unable to find a way out. We are alone in a chaotic situation and have been abandoned,” he said.

Bijan, a data analyst at a technology company in central Tehran, said that when he started working about three years ago, his salary was equivalent to more than $1,000 per month. After three pay raises, his real income is now less than $500.

“Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I had left Iran after graduating from university more than a decade ago,” the 33-year-old man said. “At that time, no one thought things would get this bad.”

Iran’s rial has also continued to lose value. In Tehran’s foreign exchange market on August 23, the exchange rate hit a new record low: 2.06 million rials for one US dollar.

Iran, one of the world’s most resource-rich countries, is now facing increasingly severe shortages of fuel and electricity. Authorities are preparing for the risk of gas shortages as winter approaches. The government has reduced fuel quotas for private vehicles and plans to raise gasoline prices in the coming weeks.

Economic instability is directly impacting daily life. Marzieh, a 44-year-old teacher in the port city of Bandar Abbas, said people are rushing to buy and stockpile food, particularly rice imported from Pakistan.

Even essential items like beans have become expensive. Marzieh has had to give up habits such as going to cafes or inviting friends to her home.

“The scary thing is that our salaries often run out before the new month begins,” she said.

When the conflict began six months ago, some Iranians thought it would pass and that the situation would change. Negar, a 35-year-old lawyer, said she did not feel sad when the war started. “There was worry, there was unease. But no grief,” she said.

However, after six months, this hope has largely vanished, replaced by persistent anxiety about the future, skepticism toward U.S. intentions, and despair at living in a weakening economy.

“I no longer wait for anything,” said Fahimeh, a 43-year-old former model in Tehran. “I have stopped trying to move forward and have simply shifted to trying to survive.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable behavior has further fueled Iranian skepticism about Washington’s intentions.

After the U.S. failed to achieve its stated goals, such as eliminating Iran’s nuclear and missile programs or changing the government in Tehran, Trump threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization, attack its infrastructure, and send the country “back to the Stone Age.”

The U.S. has recently continued its “economic war” to increase pressure on Iran, but this may also make life harder for the Iranian people.

Mostafa, a 38-year-old technology worker in Gilan Province, said he now views the U.S. as a country acting in its own self-interest, but also as lacking capability and consistency. “I don’t think they would display such contradictory and childish positions,” he said.