Tehran power outages raise alarm as Iranians fear strikes on critical infrastructure

William Brangham:

And so, for an on-the-ground perspective, we turn to Reza Sayah. He's the "News Hour"'s special correspondent in Tehran.

Reza, thank you so much again for talking with us.

When U.S. officials are talking about these strikes, they keep stressing that they are hitting military targets in Iran, not civilian targets. Is that your understanding?

Reza Sayah:

Well, I can tell you firsthand that that's not the case.

Indeed, they are hitting military targets, but they're also increasingly hitting non-military targets. Yesterday, airstrikes knocked out power in parts of Tehran. That happened again today, and also in the island of Qeshm along Iran's southern coast.

The power is back on, but that's two days in a row where we have seen power outages. And that has many here worried because of President Trump's threat to hit Iran's power grid.

This morning, state media reported an airstrike hitting one of Iran's leading pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. And this adds to the list of strikes on non-military sites. We have seen airstrikes on universities, fuel storage depots, port facilities, event and steel factories, and historical and cultural sites.

William Brangham:

Reza, what is your understanding of the diplomatic talks that are under way? We have heard conflicting reports from the president and from the Iranian government. What are your sources telling you about the status of those talks?

Reza Sayah:

Well, I think any real reasonable person would say that many of Mr. Trump's statements about talks are often inconsistent. One day, he's saying negotiations are happening and he's winning the war. The next day, he's deploying troops, making threats.

So Tehran pretty much dismisses his statements. The Foreign Ministry is often very polite, but military leaders often mock him. Tehran's position is, this is a president that's twice attacked Iran in the middle of talks. So they don't trust him and when it comes to his claims about negotiations.

Their focus is on defending their country against what they view as an illegal attack. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry says they're always prepared for talks if the talks are held with respect and recognize Iran's rights.

William Brangham:

Reza, at the beginning of these attacks, President Trump said he wanted to create the conditions where Iranians themselves could rise up, and thus weaken the Iranian government and allow individual Iranians to rise up and take power.

How realistic does that seem to you?

Reza Sayah:

Well, at this point, I can tell you that we're in the fifth week of this war, and there's been no indication of an anti-government uprising.

In contrast, almost every day, even on nights where it's been raining, you have (AUDIO GAP) of the population joining them, most of the core supporters of the government, religious and conservatives, but increasingly you're seeing more progressive, liberal Iranians.

Obviously, many Iranians were dissatisfied with this government, but they didn't want their dissatisfaction to lead to an attack by the United States in Israel. So you're seeing increasingly solidarity among different sectors of the population for the military troops.

William Brangham:

All right, that is Reza Sayah joining us from Tehran in Iran.

Reza, great to talk to you. Thank you.

Reza Sayah:

Thank you.