Iranians reacted with a mixture of disappointment and defiance on Sunday after 21 hours of talks between the US and Iran ended without an agreement, casting fear over the future of a fragile two-week ceasefire and the possible comeback of military escalation, according to AP and AFP.
US officials said the talks collapsed over what they described as Iran's refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear program. Iranian officials blamed the US for failing to reach a deal, without specifying the sticking points.
While the fragile ceasefire seems to hold, the war is not over and uncertainty remains on the streets of Tehran where some residents were reluctant to speak to the media.
After weeks of war between Iran and the US, Iranians clung to hopes that negotiations could bring an end to the fighting – only to have them dashed when the talks failed.
“I really wanted them to make peace,” said Mahsa, a 30-year-old employee of an export company in the Iranian capital.
“It’s been almost 45 days now that I’ve seen everyone stressed. It’s a bad situation,” she said.
Iranians have been living in digital blackout for over a month after the internet was blocked shortly after the war started on Feb. 28.
Since then, the population has been relying on state-controlled media, with a limited number of people having access to overseas satellite TV channels for access to information, according to AP.
Standing outside a newsstand in the capital, Tehran, Farhad Simia told AP he had hoped for successful negotiations and an end to the fighting, but stood with Iran despite the failure of the talks.
“I'm against war. I think negotiation is the better path,” Simia, 43, said. He blamed “inappropriate demands” by the US for the failure to reach a deal.
Mehdi Hosseini, also 43, agreed: “Considering the advantage Iran seemed to have on the battlefield, there was a real concern that we might lose all those gains in the negotiations.”
Hosseini added, “Whether the talks succeed or not is one matter, but the fact that the Iranian negotiating team managed to preserve what it achieved in the war, while refusing to back down and surrender, gives reason for hope.”
The streets of Tehran were lined up with large Iranian flags and giant billboards glorifying the country's leaders and military achievements. One large illustration depicted Iranian men in uniform lifting a fishing net out of the sea with a catch of miniature-sized US military aircraft and warships. “The Strait Remains Closed,” the billboard read.
Hamed, 37, said the failure to reach a deal signaled more fighting ahead.
“I would have preferred peace, but I think there is no other way but war and confrontation,” he told AFP. “Based on what I see and hear, unfortunately, we are going to war again, and it seems like we will have a long war,” he added.
Nahid, a 60-year-old housewife in Tehran, said: “We feel despair and hopelessness. We are tired of this uncertainty.”
Iran says 3,375 people were killed during the war with the United States and Israel, according to the head of the country’s Forensic Medicine.
But Iranian organizations operating from outside the country said more than 3,600 people were killed in the fighting, reflecting the high number of human losses.
Hours before the ceasefire was announced, US President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die... never to be brought back again” as he threatened to bomb infrastructure across Iran.
“I was stressed until 3am... No one slept that night,” Mahsa said.
Although disappointed, 42-year-old shop owner Farhad said he had expected the talks to fail.
“We knew from the beginning that the other side did not want to reach a conclusion,” he said, referring to the US.
