No Temporary Shelters, No Air Raid Drills: As Iran Braces for War, its Citizens Are Kept in the Dark

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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No Temporary Shelters, No Air Raid Drills: As Iran Braces for War, its Citizens Are Kept in the Dark

Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk in a road near a billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 05 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

All government agencies and offices were closed Wednesday in Tehran, and in 13 provinces, including some along the western and eastern borders, hours for government offices were limited to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m, the New York Times reported.

Iran also issued a notice to civilian aviation, warning that “gunfire will take place” for several hours on Wednesday night and into Thursday over parts of the country, it said.

As Iran prepares to follow through on its vow to “severely punish” Israel over the assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, it is raising war jitters among the public. Yet there were few, if any, signs on the streets of Tehran and other cities that a conflict may be looming.

The government said that the shutdown on Wednesday occurred merely because of extreme heat and that the closings of airspace were for military exercises.

But the explanations belie the statements from officials that, as the acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, told state media on Tuesday, “Iran’s response will be definitive and severe.”

While the time and scope of Iran’s response remain unclear — whether it will act alone or in coordination with regional militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — the disconnect between the escalating rhetoric and the nonchalance about preparing the public is striking.

“We are in the dark, clinging to news programs on satellite television to figure out what is happening because our officials are not telling us anything,” said Maliheh, 66, a retiree in Tehran. Like others interviewed by telephone for the New York Times article, she asked that her surname be withheld for fear of retribution by the authorities.

The government has not issued any directives about what citizens should do if Israel responds with counterstrikes: no temporary shelters; no air raid drills; no warnings to stock up on emergency supplies; and no contingency plans for hospitals in the event of a strike.

“The answer is nothing, zero,” said Ehsan, a 41-year-old business owner in Tehran, when asked if he had heard of any public safety instructions. “The people are an afterthought in our country.”

On social media and in interviews in several cities, Iranians said they were anxious and confused, the New York Times reported.

“The situation is beyond our tolerance,” said Parisa, 37, an artist in Tehran. “Many people who never wanted to leave the country are now thinking about immigration. Everyone is sad, aggressive and worried.”

But some others questioned whether the war chatter was justified, doubting that an Israeli counterstrike to whatever Iran decides to do would disrupt daily routines or critical services such as electricity and water.

Mostafa, 36, a computer engineer in Rasht in northwest Iran, criticized the government’s support for militant groups in the region, saying it placed Iran in Israel’s crosshairs. Still, Mostafa said, he did not believe an all-out war was coming. “It will be a remote war and in the form of destroying specific targets,” he said. “So I am not that worried.”

Others said they were already emotionally exhausted from months of tumultuous events, each enough on its own to unnerve a nation, including a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS that killed over 200 people; exchanges of missile strikes with neighboring countries; nearly going to the brink of war with the United States and Israel; and the death of the president and foreign minister in a helicopter crash.

In the past week, the already battered currency plunged anew against the dollar while the stock market tumbled.

“We are just sick and tired of waking up every day to news that someone died, something blew up, the price of the dollar went up, and recently we have to worry about going to war every few months,” said Behdad, 39, of Tehran, who said his import-export business was suffering as a result.



Pakistan Military Court Jails 25 over 2023 Attacks

Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan hold his posters during a gathering by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to observe Martyrs' Day to honor those who allegedly died during last month's protest, in Peshawar on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)
Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan hold his posters during a gathering by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to observe Martyrs' Day to honor those who allegedly died during last month's protest, in Peshawar on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)
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Pakistan Military Court Jails 25 over 2023 Attacks

Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan hold his posters during a gathering by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to observe Martyrs' Day to honor those who allegedly died during last month's protest, in Peshawar on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)
Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan hold his posters during a gathering by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to observe Martyrs' Day to honor those who allegedly died during last month's protest, in Peshawar on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

Twenty-five civilians were sentenced by a Pakistani military court to periods of two to 10 years of "rigorous imprisonment" in connection with attacks on military facilities in 2023, the armed forces' media wing said on Saturday.
The ruling underscores concerns among supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan that military courts are going to play a bigger role in cases involving the 72-year-old, who is facing multiple charges including allegedly inciting attacks against the armed forces.
Thousands of Khan supporters stormed military installations and torched a general's house on May 9, 2023 to protest against the former premier's arrest by paramilitary soldiers. At least eight people were killed in the violence.
The military's Inter-Services Public Relations office said the sentences handed down on Saturday were an "important milestone in dispensation of justice to the nation,” Reuters reported.
"It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law in own hands," it added in a statement.
Others charged over the violence were being tried in anti-terrorism courts but justice would only be fully served "once the mastermind and planners ... are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land," the military said.
The ruling comes days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military. An army general who served under him as his spy chief, Faiz Hamid, is facing a military investigation on the same charges.
Pakistan's Supreme Court last week allowed military courts to announce verdicts in concluded trials of nearly 85 supporters of Khan on charges of attacking army installations, however it made such verdicts conditional on the outcome of appeals against the jurisdiction of military courts over civilians.
The court last year provisionally allowed military courts to try civilians.