As the United States assembles its greatest military firepower in decades in the Middle East, Iranians are warily awaiting the next round of talks with the US in Geneva this week — negotiations that many see as a last chance for their ruling theocracy to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump.
Some say the situation feels hopeless. Battered by decades of sanctions, heightened by Trump’s 2018 decision to withdraw from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, Iranians also just suffered through the bloodiest crackdown on dissent in the country’s modern history. In January, security forces killed thousands of people and detained tens of thousands more.
Still, Iran heads into the Thursday talks “with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal—in the shortest possible time,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted Tuesday on X.
As Iranians await the outcome of the Geneva negotiations, many fear the outbreak of a war that could surpass Iran’s bloody 1980s conflict with Iraq.
That conflict sparked a patriotic response from Iranian volunteers. But now the prospects of a war with the U.S. have riven a population that includes hardline supporters of the theocracy and those who feel Iran is splitting at the seams.
“Every morning when I get up, my brain is full of chaos,” said Sepideh Bafarani, a 29-year-old woman who works in a women’s clothing store. “It’s a possible war … and an ongoing bad economic situation.” Rasool Razzaghi, a 54-year-old resident in the capital, Tehran, shared similar concerns ahead of the talks.
“I predict that if both sides really mean what they are saying, a war will start,” he said. AP
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