On June 13, 2025, Israel began air strikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, leading to an expanded campaign over the next twelve days that affected energy and infrastructure. Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes against Israel while the U.S. joined the conflict with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. Alireza Iranmehr documented the situation in Tehran, noting the drastic reduction in human presence in Azadi Square and challenges of transportation due to fuel shortages and blocked roads.
The enormous roundabout at Azadi Square was full of cars, yet still felt somehow deserted. Humans-they were mostly missing. Where normally tens of thousands of pedestrians thronged, now there were only a scattered few.
Earlier that day, in Bandar Anzali, I had been lucky to find a cab driver willing to bring me all the way to Tehran. The driver told me that he'd made the opposite trip with three young women in the middle of the night-and charged them 25 times the going rate.
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