Iranians are worried about the impasse between President Trump and IranLeaders are stepping up. There is also anxiety in Israel, as well as preparation. But some Iranians speaking to CBS News not only expressed nervousness, but hope Mr. Trump will keep his repeated promises to help them change their situation.
As at least ten U.S. warships — including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers — headed toward Iranian coastal waters on Friday, diplomatic efforts by other regional powers to pull Washington and Tehran from the brink of a military confrontation appeared to be limited. make slow progress, if any.
Mr. Trump said Jennifer Jacobs of CBS News Thursday evening that he had had conversations with Iran over the past few days and planned to have more, adding: “We have a lot of very large, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them.”
“I told them two things,” Mr. Trump said of his contacts with Iran. “Number one, no nuclear power. And number two, stop killing protesters.”
CBS News has requested clarification from the White House on any ongoing direct negotiations between the Trump administration and Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted earlier this week by state media as saying he had had no contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days, while saying the two sides remained in contact through intermediaries. The Swiss embassy in Tehran, along with mediators such as Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have facilitated communications between Iran and the United States.
Iranian leaders have long said they are open to direct negotiations with the United States, but that the country will not engage in negotiations as long as Washington threatens military action unless Tehran agrees to preconditions. Tehran has also refused to accept a ban on uranium enrichment within its borders – for what it claims is an entirely peaceful nuclear program – or constraints on its non-nuclear ballistic missile program.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty 
With neither side offering concessions, at least publicly, the Iranians must wait and try to prepare for a possible new military confrontation with a superpower. And they do it under extraordinary circumstances, even for a country where life has been difficult for decades.
Most Iranians take Mr. Trump’s threats seriously, but communicating with the outside world, and even within their country, is currently incredibly difficult. Since the Iranian government launched a crackdown to quell protests that rocked the country for two weeks in early January, internet and telephone connections have been largely blocked.
Like Trump threatens Iran with “major destruction”“Many people in Tehran have stockpiled all the basic goods they can. But it is harder than ever. Store shelves are fully stocked, but already tough sanctions, intensified by Mr. Trump, have mired Iran in an economic crisis that has sent prices skyrocketing.
Record inflation and a staggering depreciation of the local currency mean that even Iranians with stable jobs can barely afford basic necessities. The government, in search of cash, has also steadily increased the cost of utilities and utilities.
So for many, many Iranians, just putting food on the table, let alone storing it, has become a struggle.
Nahid, 25, told CBS News that she had earned a college degree, but worked in a Tehran cafe with low pay and lived with her parents, “because I don’t earn enough to live separately.”
“I see my father buying food and other necessities and advising the whole family to prepare for much more difficult days ahead,” she said Thursday.
“I don’t want America to come and liberate us, because that’s the work of our own people,” she said. “But I want President Trump to stand by what he has already said: If the regime kills people…he will step in and help the Iranians. He should at least keep his word, otherwise the Iranian people will remember him as a liar.”
Mohammed, 35, a taxi driver in Tehran, told CBS News he is struggling to support his wife and two young children as the dire economic situation and recent unrest on the capital’s streets have dried up his business, cutting his income in half.
“I want President Trump to keep his promise to the Iranian people when he told protesters to follow suit because help is on the way,” he said. “The people protesting in the streets were peaceful and had no weapons, but the police and the Basij [paramilitary] The armed forces violently attacked people and shot many defenseless people. »
But some Iranians remain, like their leaders, publicly defiant and insist that America – with its thousands of troops based across the region, within range of Iranian missiles – would pay a high price for any attack ordered by President Trump.
“The United States can’t do anything,” said Hai Morteza Armani, 67, a merchant in Tehran’s sprawling central bazaar, who described himself to CBS News as a devout Muslim and government supporter.
“President Trump said a lot of nonsense that he forgot the next day, and his recent comments against the Islamic Republic of Iran are just baseless threats,” he said. “If the Americans hurt our leader, then we will kill as many American soldiers as possible. They know our missile capabilities and are afraid of them. That’s why they won’t do anything.”
However, Mr. Trump ordered military action against Iran only seven months ago, joining Israel in a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic and ordering strikes on three of the country’s most sensitive nuclear facilities.
In Israel, rumors of war
Memories of this war are still fresh in Israeli minds, and the exchange of threats between Tehran and Washington has renewed the feeling of anxiety and put the population on alert.
While Israel’s air defenses have proven incredibly effective during this war, Israelis have been driven by air raid sirens to take cover on countless occasions, and fear of a new round of confrontation has grown over the past two weeks.
The governments of Israel and Iran have long considered each other sworn enemies, and most Israelis reserve their anger for the regime in Tehran. There was much sympathy at home for the protesters in Iran, and President Trump’s promise to take on the leaders of the Islamic Republic and protect the Iranian population was met with considerable support in Israel.
As U.S. warships approach, Israeli media headlines for weeks have focused on the prospect of another U.S. attack on Iran — and the likelihood that that country will bear the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation as America’s closest ally in the region.
Some municipalities have already announced the reopening of public shelters. Several airlines have canceled flights to Israel and hotels are reporting tourists canceling their reservations. People stock up on food and bottled water.
But there are no special instructions yet from the government or the Home Front Command, which sends alerts to citizens based on real-time threat assessments by Israeli security services.
In the absence of such clear instructions, and with the rhetoric of Mr. Trump and Iranian officials typically high in drama but short on detail, rumors spread quickly in Israel. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who “knows something.”
Daily conversations among Israelis often revolve around claims that a U.S. strike would take place within hours or days, or debates over whether holidays and other events should be postponed.
But no one in Tehran or Tel Aviv really knows what is coming.
