TEHRAN – Iranians are preparing for what they believe is an imminent attack by US forces, with many fleeing the capital city of Tehran as Donald Trump warned his “massive armada” was approaching the country.
The US President on Wednesday wrote on his Truth Social platform that the fleet, which he said was bigger than the one sent to Venezuela before the capture of president Nicolás Maduro, was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary”.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” Trump added.
He said that otherwise the “next attack will be far worse” than those launched during Operation Midnight Hammer – when the US struck three of the country’s nuclear facilities in June during the Iran-Israel conflict.
Dozens of Iranians who spoke to The i Paper said they were leaving the capital to go to stay with relatives in suburban areas on the outskirts of the city, in anticipation of a US strike.
Diplomatic movements are rapidly underway. In recent hours, Iran’s foreign minister has spoken to Saudi and Turkish counterparts, while Iran’s president spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday night.
A senior political source in Iran told The i Paper that Washington has relayed a message to Tehran proposing several preconditions to halt hostilities. These preconditions, the source said without elaborating, would include major changes to the Islamic Republic’s core doctrine.
The source emphasised that Iran — while maintaining full readiness for a worst-case scenario — does not oppose talks in principle and has repeatedly stated that the path to diplomacy remains open “if there is mutual respect and the abandonment of pressure and threats”.
“By proposing such preconditions,” the source added, “Washington is signalling that it is paving the way for an escalation of tensions rather than seeking a deal.”
Massive protests have erupted in cities across the country since 28 December, fuelled by deepening economic desperation and a plummeting national currency. Six days after the protests began, on 2 January, Trump declared that his country was “locked and loaded, and ready to go.”
“If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, after videos began circulating on social media showing Iranian forces firing live ammunition at protesters.
Caught between the Islamic Republic’s brutal use of force and the prospect of an impending US military strike, many Iranians now feel that American intervention could be a lesser evil.
“War is never good. War is brutal. But if missiles aren’t coming, the government forces will avenge their incompetence on us. I don’t know which is worse,” Asal, a 39-year-old artist, told The i Paper.
On Saturday, Trump said the United States had “a lot of ships going” toward the Middle East “just in case”.
“I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely … we have an armada heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” the US President added.
In a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, he reiterated his threat, saying: “There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now. I hope they make a deal.”
This time, however, the prospect of a US strike appears vastly different from the targeted attacks carried out in June last year. The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in CENTCOM’s area of responsibility suggests a much larger operation than the June strikes. If the objective were merely to strike Iran’s oil, gas, water, energy, or nuclear infrastructure, the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln would not be necessary.
Meanwhile, an Iranian political source told The i Paper on the condition of anonymity that the US is still not convinced that a full-scale military aggression on Iran would be necessary and a change from within is a better option. “I think what the US is banking on is the rise of a Napoleon Bonaparte figure from the Iranian system,” the source added, noting that a full-scale war may not be imminent.
As Washington and Tehran posture and threaten, the people of Iran remain largely absent from the calculations that could decide their fate, trapped between the prospect of American hellfire and the Islamic Republic’s iron fist.
An average worker in Iran earns approximately IRR 115,000,000 per month (which, at the time of writing, is equivalent to about £76). To put this into perspective, a family of four would need to spend roughly £30 per month on basic food alone.
This figure does not account for staggering rent hikes in Tehran, which have crippled the working class and forced mass migration to the outskirts of the city.
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“I am only alive to survive. My faith is dead. I don’t even know why I continue to live anymore,” said Mahsa, a 33-year-old university employee in Tehran.
“I go to sleep every night, wishing that American missiles would reign on Tehran. It’d put me out of my misery anyways,” Payam, a 32-year-old Iranian who runs an online shop of cosmetic and health products, told The i Paper.
For Iranians like Mahsa, Payam, and Asal, the debate over war and diplomacy is not theoretical. It is a question of survival. Whether the next blow comes from abroad or from within, many feel they are being asked to choose between two forms of violence — neither of which offers a future.
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