A correspondent in Iran

Tehran rallies nationalist sentiment as tensions escalate over disputed Gulf islands, and Europe accuses Tehran of “occupation.”

Despite President Masoud Pezeshkian’s positive remarks at the UN, many in Tehran see the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal as a threat backed by the US and Israel.

Two months later, statements from political and security figures, and remarks from families of the dead, revealed the scale of Israel's penetration inside Iran.

Recent events in Syria have pushed Tehran to adopt a more unified position: a tit-for-tat strategy is now seen as the only way to push back against Israel.

"I just prayed he was alive," says the wife of an inmate after witnessing the aftermath of the Israeli attack on Iran's notorious Evin prison.

Experts inside Iran argue that while Ayatollah Khamenei's death would shake the system, it would not be enough to dismantle it.

"When I leave for my shift, I don't know if I'll return. Neither of us talks about it, but every time I kiss my daughter goodbye..."

Residents of different Iranian cities describe life during wartime, from falling bombs and a shutdown banking system to the return of paramilitary checkpoints.

Iranian opposition figures living in exile and inside Iran have widely condemned Israel's war on their homeland, demanding an end to Israel's aggression.

A retired engineer, who is hard of hearing and relies on hearing aids, said the explosions were so terrifying that they woke him up.