Iranians are anxious, but some hope Trump will "fulfill his promise"

4 days ago 6

Iranians are anxious arsenic the standoff betwixt President Trump and Iran's rulers escalates. There's anxiety, too, successful Israel, on with preparation. But immoderate Iranians speaking to CBS News person voiced not lone nervousness, but anticipation that Mr. Trump volition marque bully connected his repeated promises to assistance them alteration their circumstances.

As astatine slightest 10 U.S. warships — including an craft bearer and astatine slightest 5 destroyers — were heading toward Iran's coastal waters connected Friday, diplomatic efforts by different determination powers to propulsion Washington and Tehran backmost from the brink of a subject clash look to beryllium making dilatory progress, if any.

Mr. Trump told CBS News' Jennifer Jacobs connected Thursday nighttime that he'd had conversations with Iran implicit the past fewer days, and that helium planned to person more, adding: "We person a batch of precise big, precise almighty ships sailing to Iran close now, and it would beryllium large if we didn't person to usage them."

"I told them 2 things," Mr. Trump said astir his contacts with Iran. "Number one, nary nuclear. And fig two, halt sidesplitting protesters."

CBS News has sought clarification from the White House astir immoderate ongoing nonstop negotiations betwixt the Trump medication and Tehran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted earlier this week by authorities media arsenic saying helium had had nary interaction with U.S. peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff successful caller days, though helium said the 2 sides remained successful interaction done intermediaries. The Swiss embassy successful Tehran, on with mediators including Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey person facilitated communications betwixt Iran and the U.S.

Iran's leaders person agelong said they're unfastened to nonstop negotiations with the U.S., but that the state won't prosecute successful talks portion Washington is threatening subject enactment unless Tehran agrees to preconditions. Tehran has besides refused to judge a prohibition connected uranium enrichment wrong its borders — for what it claims is an wholly peaceful atomic programme — oregon constraints connected its non-nuclear ballistic rocket program.

With neither broadside offering immoderate concessions, publically astatine least, Iranians are near to wait, and to effort to hole for a imaginable caller subject confrontation with a superpower. And they're doing it nether bonzer circumstances, adjacent for a state wherever beingness has been hard for decades.

Most Iranians instrumentality Mr. Trump's threats seriously, but communicating with the extracurricular world, and adjacent wrong their country, is incredibly hard close now. Since the Iranian authorities launched a crackdown to quash protests that rocked the state for 2 weeks successful aboriginal January, net and telephone connections person been mostly blocked.

As Trump threatens Iran with "major destruction," galore radical successful Tehran person been stockpiling immoderate basal goods they can. But that's harder than ever. Store shelves are afloat stocked, but already-severe sanctions, ramped up by Mr. Trump, person mired Iran successful an economical situation that has sent prices soaring.

Record-high ostentation and a stunning depreciation of the section currency mean adjacent Iranians with unchangeable jobs tin hardly spend essentials. The government, grappling for liquidity, has besides steadily hiked the outgo of nationalist services and utilities.

So for many, galore Iranians, conscionable putting nutrient connected the table, fto unsocial stockpiling it, has go a struggle.

Nahid, 25, told CBS News she earned a assemblage degree, but is moving successful a Tehran java shop connected a debased wage and surviving with her parents, "because I don't gain capable to unrecorded separately."

"I spot that my begetter has been buying nutrient and different necessities and is advising the full household to beryllium prepared for overmuch much hard days," she said Thursday.

"I don't privation America coming and liberating us, due to the fact that it is the occupation of our ain people," she said. "But I privation President Trump to basal down what helium already has said — that if the authorities kills radical … helium volition intervene and assistance Iranians. He should astatine slightest support his word, different the Iranian radical volition retrieve him arsenic a liar."

Tehran taxi operator Mohammed, 35, told CBS News he's struggling to supply for his woman and 2 young children arsenic the dire system and caller unrest connected the capital's streets person dried up business, halving his income.

"I privation President Trump to fulfill his committedness to the Iranian people, erstwhile helium told the protesters to support up, arsenic assistance is connected the way," helium said. "People who protested connected the streets were peaceful and did not person immoderate arms, but the constabulary and Basij [paramilitary] forces violently attacked radical and changeable galore defenseless people."

But determination are immoderate Iranians who remain, similar their leaders, publically defiant, and importune that America — with its thousands of troops based crossed the region, successful scope of Iranian missiles — would wage a steep terms for immoderate onslaught ordered by President Trump.

"The U.S. cannot bash immoderate damn thing," said Hai Morteza Armani, 67, a merchant successful Tehran's sprawling cardinal bazaar who described himself to CBS News arsenic a devout Muslim and protagonist of the government.

"President Trump has said a batch of nonsense that helium has forgotten the adjacent day, and these caller comments of his against the Islamic Republic of Iran are conscionable baseless threats," helium declared. "If the Americans bash immoderate harm to our leader, past we volition termination arsenic galore American soldiers arsenic possible, and they cognize astir our rocket capabilities and are acrophobic of it. That is wherefore they volition not bash anything."

Mr. Trump did bid subject enactment against Iran lone 7 months ago, however, joining Israel arsenic it fought a 12-day warfare with the Islamic Republic, and ordering strikes against 3 of the country's astir delicate atomic facilities

In Israel, rumors of war

Memories of that warfare are inactive caller connected Israeli minds, and the speech of threats betwixt Tehran and Washington has renewed the consciousness of anxiousness and enactment radical connected alert.

While Israel's aerial defenses proved incredibly effectual during that war, Israelis were driven by aerial raid sirens to instrumentality structure countless times, and fearfulness of different circular of confrontation has grown implicit the past mates weeks.

The governments of Israel and Iran person agelong considered each different arch enemies, and astir Israelis reserve their ire for the authorities successful Tehran. There was a batch of sympathy successful the state for the protesters successful Iran, and President Trump's committedness to spell aft the Islamic Republic's rulers and support the Iranian colonisation was met successful Israel with sizeable support.

As the U.S. warships approach, Israeli media headlines person focused for weeks connected the imaginable of a caller U.S. onslaught connected Iran — and the likelihood that it would carnivore the brunt of Tehran's retaliation arsenic America's closest state successful the region.

Some municipalities person already announced the reopening of nationalist weaponry shelters. Several airlines person canceled flights to Israel, and hotels study tourists canceling bookings. People are stocking up connected nutrient and bottled water.

But determination person been nary peculiar instructions yet from the authorities oregon the Home Front Command, which sends retired alerts to citizens based connected real-time menace assessments from Israeli information services.

In the lack of specified wide instructions, and arsenic the rhetoric from some Mr. Trump and Iranian officials are characteristically precocious connected play but debased connected detail, rumors dispersed rapidly successful Israel. Everyone seems to cognize idiosyncratic who knows idiosyncratic who "knows something."

Daily conversations among Israelis often revolve astir claims of immoderate cognition astir a U.S. onslaught coming successful hours, oregon days, oregon debates implicit whether vacations and different events should beryllium postponed.

But nobody, successful Tehran oregon Tel Aviv, truly knows what's coming.

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