'No Doubt War Will Resume': Skeptical Iranians Say It's Too Early to Celebrate
Zeteo reports from the ground in Tehran to hear how some ordinary Iranians are feeling about the two-week ceasefire announcement.
This article was published in collaboration with Egab.
TEHRAN, Iran – The morning after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the underlying mood here in Tehran was far from relief.
As people continued their daily routines, as they had in the days before, a divide emerged in how Iranians were reacting to the US president’s announcement. Many saw the ceasefire as a victory for Iran, while some thought their country had agreed to it too soon. Others remained deeply distrustful of the Americans, and many expressed an instinctive determination to keep pressure on both Washington and the country’s own leadership. There was, however, an overall unifying feeling of raw defiance among the Iranians I spoke to.
Ahmad, a 42-year-old bookseller, saw the pause as a sign of Trump’s humiliation, suggesting the failure to secure the Strait of Hormuz might cause Gulf states to reconsider supporting America.
Saeed, a 65-year-old taxi driver, viewed the ceasefire as a victory, comparing Trump’s actions to Saddam Hussein’s invasion in 1980, which led to a nearly eight-year war between the two countries. “They said Iran would surrender in three days,” Saeed exclaimed. “But now the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands.
Negin, a 27-year-old barista, argued the ceasefire came too soon, referring to the deaths of scores of schoolchildren in Minab. “After so much innocent blood, there should not have been a ceasefire this quickly,” she told me.
“I have no doubt the war will resume,” she added. “The US and Israel cannot be trusted.”
Meanwhile, Sobhan, a 56-year-old restaurant cleaner, believed the ceasefire was merely a prelude to renewed unrest and insisted people must maintain their presence in public spaces.
The tense morning could not be separated from the night that preceded it.