Fears of a wider conflict are growing in Iran, even though negotiations are ongoing. Although President Trump has called off the most recent threat of a renewed operation, civilians still brace for possible damage to vital infrastructure. In addition, labor unrest, economic hardship and protests over executions continue to test the authorities’ ability to contain domestic discontent.
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Last week, President Trump canceled a planned strike while diplomatic efforts continue, and it remains unclear whether Israel would take part in any further operation. At the same time, civil protests in different cities, including demonstrations by pensioners, have intensified, and the government, having lost its principal leaders, is preparing itself for a scenario of urban warfare against armed opponents.
Minoo (full name withheld for security reasons), a left-wing student at a university in Tehran, told The Media Line: “The Islamic Republic has no option but to engage in warmongering in order to survive, because under conditions of peace it would have no justification for keeping its armed forces in the streets under the pretext of war.”
She said that the presence of Iranian armed forces is not intended as a display of power or as propaganda. Instead, she said, it stems from fear of a popular uprising, referring to the January 8 and 9, 2026 uprising as “a revolt of the underprivileged classes.”
“Although it lacked unified leadership on the ground, it demonstrated how millions of people, if equipped with a clear program and objective, as well as revolutionary and progressive leadership, could overthrow the regime,” she asserted.
End to hostilities could intensify internal clashes
In Minoo’s opinion, although war may tie down part of the regime’s military forces, an end to external hostilities could intensify confrontation between protesters and the authorities. She argued that the conflict gives the government a pretext to tighten domestic repression.
There are many signs of confusion and disorder within the structure of government following the January uprising and the deaths of its principal leaders. The most important of these is the apparent absence of effective leadership by Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public, although President Masoud Pezeshkian recently said he had spoken with him for more than an hour.
Claims circulating online about Mojtaba Khamenei’s health and possible serious injuries could not be independently verified by The Media Line.
What is certain is that the absence of the Islamic Republic’s presumed leader, like the Shiite Hidden Imam, is causing division and demoralization among the small percentage of the population who remain attached to the regime because of their economic interests, their involvement in the crimes of recent decades, and, of course, their rigid Shiite religious dogmatism.
Meanwhile, strikes and protests over living conditions are intensifying by the day and could once again repeat the process that led to the January uprising.
Many political activists inside the country believe that, had an exclusivist current based outside the country not intervened in that uprising with false promises and unleashed a bloodbath, the movement, with its legitimate demands, could have crushed the regime.
Parishad Kavyani, a human rights and women’s rights activist, told The Media Line that the courage of the Iranian people amid war and bloody repression is admirable. “At a time when bombs are falling, repression is intensifying, and the future is shrouded in uncertainty, people are still taking to the streets to demand freedom, justice and an end to executions. Their message is clear: this struggle did not begin with the war, and it will not end when the war ends.”
In her view, the main challenge now is over who has the right to speak on behalf of the Iranian people. Different sectors of society have united against the wave of executions of regime opponents and are protesting. Referring to public fear of a war that some Iranians abroad have welcomed, she said: “We must not overlook the suffering caused by the war itself. Once again, it is ordinary Iranian citizens who are paying the price. Families are grieving, local communities are living with fear and uncertainty, and civilians are trapped between forces over which they have no control.”
The Iranian people deserve safety, dignity, right to determine own future
“The Iranian people deserve neither war nor repression. They deserve safety, dignity, freedom and the right to determine their own future,” she said.
While the regime has erected gallows for public executions in Isfahan and other parts of the country, the courage of those sentenced to death and of the people who gather in protest demonstrates that, despite the Islamic regime’s unprecedented massacre and brutality last January, the people are no longer afraid and are taking to the streets.
At the same time, the Islamic Republic’s war-ravaged economy cannot withstand another war, and the government has lost control of affairs. Economists inside the country are already warning, even in heavily censored media outlets, that the foundations of the economy are being destroyed.
Even without economists’ warnings that Iran’s economic situation is becoming more critical, many ordinary people are experiencing rampant inflation in their daily lives. Most factories and major manufacturing workshops in Tehran and other large cities have either closed or are operating at reduced capacity, due to the wartime economy, raw material shortages, and repeated power cuts, whether scheduled or unscheduled. Many workers and employees have joined the growing ranks of the unemployed.
Shahin, a skilled industrial worker in one of Iran’s cities, says that over the two weeks of US attacks in the south of the country, inflation increased day by day even in other Iranian cities and, for some food products, hour by hour. He told The Media Line that the price of bread, a staple food, rose by more than 20% during the attacks compared with several weeks earlier, fuelling further discontent.
A mid-ranking manager in Iran who is familiar with military affairs told The Media Line that the regime has entered survival mode and is attempting, through certain military maneuvers, to secure greater concessions from the United States in exchange for ending the military confrontation.
“During this period, it is also silencing protests and prominent opposition figures inside the country, while seeking to extricate itself from the crisis through an accommodation with the West, so that sanctions can be lifted, foreign investment can reduce hyperinflation and, through easing economic problems, the danger of growing public discontent can be diminished,” he said.
Despite a framework agreement that provided for the government’s gradual access to frozen assets, followed by the possibility of oil sales and the lifting of sanctions in subsequent negotiations, the Islamic Republic has instead sought greater concessions from the United States through waging war.
What could disrupt these calculations, however, is the escalation of protests by pensioners, teachers, students and workers across the country, who have once again demonstrated their presence despite severe repression and the widespread arrest of leaders of trade unions and professional associations. Some people inside the country call this process a situation of No Return.