In recent days, the focus has been on the ceasefire with Iran, tensions in the street of Hormuz, and Israel's continued strikes in Lebanon.

But less attention has been paid to the people inside Iran, those who have borne the brunt of US and Israeli attacks.

What are they thinking about this war and about the regime that governs them?

For that, we turn now to Holly Dog.

She's a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

She spent her teenage years in Tehran and now curates the Iranist.

That's a weekly Substack newsletter.

Thanks for being here.

Thank you for having me.

So, what are you hearing?

What has daily life been like for people in Iran, the people that you've been speaking with?

Well, I should note that there's been an internet shutdown for now 41 days.

It was state imposed.

And so, what's petering out of the country is mostly anecdotal.

And what I'm hearing at this juncture is that a lot of Iranians um are confused about what's happening.

Um there was this unprecedented massacre in January and then the president said that help was on the way and then now the ceasefire happens with the regime that they wanted ousted and they're having to live with that.

But then there's also a sense of relief from Iranians that were anti-war to begin with or maybe anti-war over time because they saw all these civilian casualties.

There have been at least 1,700 according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran.

You mentioned the president's rhetoric, that uh social media post earlier this week where he said, quote, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.

I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."

How was that interpreted by by people in Iran?

So, it really shook Iranians.

Um the I had Iranian Americans actually reaching out to me and saying, "Is the president going to drop a nuclear weapon on our families in Iran?"

And then we had um the White House actually issue a statement saying that that wasn't going to be a reality.

But going back to my original point, I mean, you're you're saying you want to help the Iranian people and oust the regime and then you're threatening them with getting rid of them as an entire civilization.

And it didn't resonate well at all.

There were um reportedly Iranians fleeing the capital to Iran, stocking up on food, water, electricity.

Some um people were saying that their families were saying goodbye.

We were they weren't necessarily sure that they would have electricity and be able to contact the outside world or if they would even survive what was going to come cuz they were staying up all till 3:30 a.m.

Teron time to see what was going to happen.

So I think it really irked a lot and scared a lot of Iranians across the board.

You mentioned before the war there were Iranians who opposed the regime and welcomed outside pressure.

has the way this war has pro has has progressed so far, has that changed their their point of view?

I would say arguably yes.

Um, again, we we're dealing with the state imposed internet shutdown.

we're not getting the full picture, but from what we're seeing is that just based off what the president's rhetoric was before the war, during the war, and now with the ceasefire, it's not adding up for Iranians.

And I I really um the the big worry now is that yes, um there's this the war may end, but now the Islamic Republic is going to take revenge on the Iranian people.

We've seen at least 1,500 people arrested.

We've seen at least 10 executions.

And some of those were protesters during the January anti-regime uprising.

And so there's a real worry about what's going to be waiting for them because now the Islamic Republic is a rump regime, arguably more hardline, more repressed, and now more emboldened because they've been able to survive this and have control of the straight of Hormuz.

When the president suggests that there are Iranians who want the US strikes to continue, are you hearing that at all or is that a misreading of what people actually want?

Well, you know, I I heard that commentary.

I think that initially at least there were some Iranians that were feeling this way, but the goalposts of the war have changed.

This isn't about the ouster of the Islamic Republic.

It seems like this is about at this juncture degrading its military capabilities and leaving the people in a worse situation than they were originally.

And so, it's hard to say that this is something that the Iranian people asked for.

They've asked for the ouster of the Islamic Republic.

One that now um apparently Vice President JD Vance and a team um are going to be meeting with Islamabad for talks.

So I don't think this is what the Iranian people want.

Understanding that no group is a monolith.

How has this war reshaped how ordinary Iranians view the US and and view Israel?

You know, I you know, for a long time I I've said for that Iranians were arguably the more most pro-American in the Middle East, if not the world.

And I'm not entirely sure how they're going to feel after this war.

Um assuming that the ceasefire holds because of what has happened over the past few weeks.

But I think that there's also a reality that Iranians know how to separate the government of the United States from the American people.

and they've always said that and so I think that we can't put a think one sort of thinking for Iranians especially anti-regime Iranians.

Holly Dress, thanks as always for your insights.

Thank you.

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