BBC Persian has been hearing from Iranians, as the country continues to be targeted by US and Israeli strikes.
Sajad says most shops are closed, food prices have gone up, and the streets are very quiet.
While people are “anxious and stressed”, the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made him “more hopeful about the future”.
“Almost no one imagined that things would reach this point,” he says, adding that the “scale of these attacks” on the western city of Urmia is “truly shocking”.
Amir, who left Iran two weeks ago and is now stuck in the United Arab Emirates, says: “Nothing good comes out of war. But unfortunately, we’ve been pushed to a point where some people are willing to endure this pain in the hope that we might see a better tomorrow.”
He adds that he “shakes” every time he hears of another attack on Tehran as that’s where his family is: “I would rather be under the bombing myself than sit here knowing it’s happening to my loved ones. Our people deserve a normal life”.
“Tehran feels very empty,” says one woman in her twenties. “Anyone leaving home I think must have an urgent reason, otherwise they’d stay at home.”
She says that she had a plane ticket, booked for yesterday, to travel to Europe and study, but “all my plans are now up in the air, which makes me feel a bit sad.”
“On the first day, people were chanting and everyone seemed happy,” she says. “But now there are police forces around. Most shops are closed. Supermarkets and bakeries remain open, though some ATMs are out of service.”
British Airways flights out of Oman already sold out, BBC told
The UK government announced previously that it had chartered a commercial flight to help British nationals leave the Middle East, it is scheduled to depart from Oman later on Wednesday at 23:00 local time, (19:00 GMT), with further expected in the coming days.
British Airways has told the BBC additional services from Oman to London scheduled for later this week have already sold out.
“Flights from Muscat on 5, 6 and 7 March are now fully booked,” the airline says.
“We will continue to review the situation and if we are able to, we will add additional services.”
Airport reunions as conflict escalates across Middle East
Photos are coming in from airports across the world of families being reunited as flights across the Middle East continue to be disrupted by the conflict.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled across the region, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24, with hundreds of thousands of passengers affected.
Iran launches more missiles towards Israel, says IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has detected another launch of missiles from Iran towards Israel.
It urges those who receive a shelter notification to do so, and not to exit until they are told to do so.
A IDF statement adds that defence systems are working to intercept the missiles.
Iran launches more missiles towards Israel, says IDFpublished at 19:1819:18
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has detected another launch of missiles from Iran towards Israel.
It urges those who receive a shelter notification to do so, and not to exit until they are told to do so.
A IDF statement adds that defence systems are working to intercept the missiles.
Explosions ring out in Beirut as Israel-Hezbollah hostilities escalate
The death toll from Israeli military action here in Lebanon has risen to 72, with 437 injured since Monday, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.
It comes as hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah continue to escalate.
Explosions of Israeli air strikes have rung out in the capital Beirut today, while the Israeli military has told people living in southern Lebanon to leave their homes immediately and move north.
The latest escalation comes after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel in response to the US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli military has since launched air strikes and sent troops into the south of Lebanon, with tens of thousands of civilians forced to flee.
Hezbollah’s rocket fire in the early hours of Monday was the first such action from the group since a November 2024 ceasefire that formally ended 13 months of war. Israel had continued to carry out near-daily strikes on Lebanon, which it said were aimed at Hezbollah targets.
Twenty killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes, minister says
Lebanese Social Affairs minister Haneen Sayed says 20 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon today, according to reports from news agency Reuters and in local media.
Sayed is currently giving a news conference alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
