Ceasefire offers reprieve as Iranians endure conflict in Tehran

Amna Nawaz:

Well, the cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran is now four weeks' old.

As we have heard this evening, the efforts to resolve the conflict are fraught, but they do continue. For the people of Iran, who've endured decades of repression and economic privation and now a devastating air war, the cease-fire brought a reprieve. But the threats and counterthreats between Washington and Tehran persist, as does the specter of renewed conflict.

Special correspondent Reza Sayah in Tehran ventured out into a city on edge.

Reza Sayah:

Under dust and debris, a picture of some of the hundreds of school-aged students Hamidreza Afarideh taught throughout 15 years in his music academy that lies now in ruins.

On the morning of March 23, an American or Israeli airstrike hit this building in a business district in Eastern Tehran. The exact target of the strike was not clear. But it destroyed the school Hamidreza spent his life savings to build.

Hamidreza Afarideh, Honiak Music Academy (through interpreter):

You raise a child for 15 years and in one night that child dies. It's like your life crashing down over your head.

Reza Sayah:

Hamidreza says he's determined to rebuild, but fresh fear of war has everything on hold.

Hamidreza Afarideh (through interpreter):

Every day we see the headlines and ask what's going to happen. It's scary. It's a nightmare.

Reza Sayah:

Hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz this week and new threats of war have many here on edge. Every night, at Valiasr Square, Iranians gather for pro-government rallies.

Bahareh Sharifi volunteers for the most popular attraction, a group effort to keep Iran's flag waving through the night.

Bahareh Sharifi, Iranian Government Supporter (through interpreter):

As long as this leadership is here, I'm going to keep this flag up high and it feels good to see thousands of like-minded people who are willing, like myself, to sacrifice our lives for our flag.

Reza Sayah:

Her cargo pants and loose hijab scream Western liberal. But if there is more war, she says, she stands with the Islamic Republic.

Bahareh Sharifi (through interpreter):

I hope it doesn't happen again, but I believe in the wisdom of our leaders and strategists and their decisions and honesty. If they decide it's right for us to resist again, I won't be happy. But if it's necessary, we will stand with them.

Foad Izadi:

I think we're going to see more war.

Reza Sayah:

Tehran-based political analyst Foad Izadi says, twice in nine months, in the middle of negotiations, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. It would be a mistake, he says, for Iran not to be ready for a third attack.

Foad Izadi:

I think sooner or later Trump realizes that this is a failed policy. He's not there yet. He thinks that, with a few more bombings and a few weeks of attacks, maybe he can achieve what he wants. This is what the Israelis are telling him.

Reza Sayah:

And what happens if the U.S. does attack Iran again?

Foad Izadi:

Same thing that you saw in the 40 days. Iran will respond, maybe in a harsher manner. Iran has no other choice.

Reza Sayah:

The Islamic Republic is fighting in economic war too. The 40-day U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign and the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has oil exports and the value of Iranian currency near an all-time low. Inflation is at an all-time high.

Authorities here say using land routes with Iran's mostly friendly neighbors for oil exports and trade will help. But there is no avoiding the economic crisis.

Foad Izadi:

So there are ways of going around these type of sanctions, but they are going to be painful and they are going to be real.

Reza Sayah:

The Islamic Republic is seemingly attempting to relieve the economic pain by easing control over social freedoms. Today, singers and performers regularly defy the state ban on street music. More women walk the streets of Tehran without the hijab, the very act that launched a wave of protest in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab.

Ziba, Tehran, Iran, Resident (through interpreter):

This is something we have achieved at great cost and we're going to fight to keep it tooth and nail.

Reza Sayah:

In this Tehran cafe, Iranians meet every week to debate their political views.

Afsaneh, Tehran, Iran, Resident (through interpreter):

It helps us understand our collective experience and things we all went through, especially the war and the hopes and fears we all experienced together.

Reza Sayah:

And in the streets of Tehran, more women than ever are riding motorcycles. Law student Shakiba Shokri says the new freedoms are nice, but not enough.

Shakiba Shokri, Law Student:

We're having a lot here these days, but I know we will pass this, and we will show the world that we're strong enough to do anything we want.

Reza Sayah:

What remains a red line for authorities is anything deemed a threat to government security.

Since March, authorities have executed two dozen protesters accused of working with foreign enemies to sow unrest in mass anti-government demonstrations in January, where thousands of protesters and hundreds of security forces were killed.

Since the start of the war, authorities have silenced anti-government street protests. A woman who took part in the January demonstrations asked not to be filmed, but shared this statement: "It doesn't matter how long our journey is. We will keep fighting to make our voices heard and for a free and democratic Iran."

A day after bombs destroyed his music academy, Hamidreza Afarideh made this viral video. He sat in his ruins and played his kamancheh, the classic Iranian string instrument. It was his personal call for peace. With the White House reporting progress and talks with Iran, for Hamidreza and millions of Iranians, an end to the war may now be in sight.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Reza Sayah in Tehran.