As the smoke of war clears over Iran, the scent of saffron once again fills the aisles of Tehran’s Tajrish bazaar, where life appears to be back to normal almost two months after the conflict with Israel ended.
The capital’s jammed streets, bustling malls, reopened cafes and renewed festivals paint a picture of recovery. Yet, under the skin, Iranians are grappling with jitters of a conflict that could reignite at any moment.
“Yes, things are very much normal. We travel, we work, and listen to music. But every day I check the news with my heart in my throat,” Fereshteh Naeemi, a 34-year-old shopkeeper in the Tajrish bazaar, told The National.
“One day Israel threatens; the other day Iran says something. I try to stay away from the news, but it’s inevitable. Everyone’s talking about it. We live with this stress every day.”
Iranians are not only faced with the continuous war of words between Israel and Iran, but also the economic pressures and security reshuffles that reflect Tehran’s efforts to regroup and prepare for a possible return to fighting.
Meanwhile, the country’s leadership is doing everything to project normality. State broadcaster IRIB has dropped its wartime analysis shows and resumed routine programming. The supreme leader’s latest address was delivered standing – rather than seated as usual – to symbolise resilience and survival.
And perhaps most strikingly, the absence of morality police on the streets is seen as an attempt to rally different voices under the banner of national unity.
But to many Iranians, these moves feel staged rather than organic.
‘It feels like the 1980s’
When Iranians woke up on June 13 to massive blasts in the heart of Tehran – scenes they had only seen in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza – they concluded it was finally Iran’s turn.
Israel, which for years had branded Iran as the “head of the snake” of the so-called Axis of Resistance, had unleashed its strikes. It was over, many thought.
Iran was caught off guard – not just its air defences, but people’s psyche and above all, the economy. Prices skyrocketed. Food inflation surged by 50 per cent and some items, including bottled water, vanished off supermarket shelves as families scrambled to flee big cities, especially Tehran.
The government moved quickly to stabilise prices and prevent unrest. It worked, and the focus rapidly shifted back to the war itself.
Fast-forward to after the war, as Tehran’s residents trickled back and were confronted by new prices. Bread and rice had doubled, gold soared and the rial collapsed past 900,000 to the US dollar.
Meanwhile, property sales across the capital slumped amid fears that the conflict would resume.
“It feels like the 1980s again,” Hossein Javanzadeh, a 63-year-old taxi driver who remembers the Iran-Iraq war, told The National. “Back then, too, everyone stopped buying houses. All they wanted was dollars and gold. It’s the same now. Nobody knows what’s coming next.”
Iran’s nuclear policy reflects the same duality. Its leaders maintain deliberate ambiguity – projecting their programme’s resilience while simultaneously signalling an openness to dialogue.
Military reshuffle
Deep underground, uncertainty is even greater. Key atomic sites, including Natanz with its 60 per cent enrichment capacity and the heavily fortified Fordow facility, were struck by Israel and the US. While surface damage is visible in satellite imagery, the impact on underground infrastructure remains unclear.
Both Iran and the US agree the strikes slowed enrichment, but Iran says it had removed its 400kg of highly enriched uranium beforehand. Since the end of the conflict, no media, even state outlets, have been allowed access to the underground facilities.
Observers say this “strategic ambiguity” allows Iran to shield itself from war while keeping diplomacy on the table.
“Iran’s playing a skilful game of shadowboxing with its nuclear plans,” Iran-based journalist and commentator Amir Jaber says. “It talks about surviving the strikes but hides its wounds, telling the west: ‘Come talk, but don’t expect to peek inside yet.’
“It buys Tehran time to rebuild and maybe push its nuclear programme further, but it’s risky. If Israel and the US think Iran’s too close to dangerous enrichment levels, they might skip talks and decide to strike again.”
In the wake of unprecedented losses among Iran’s top brass, the fiery anti-Israeli speeches once delivered by commanders have fallen silent, giving way to a new rhetoric that mixes defiance with pragmatism.
Tehran has also moved to reshuffle its command structure. The creation of a Supreme National Defence Council, chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, shows that Iran’s security architecture needed reshaping. The decision to reappoint Ali Larijani as head of the Supreme National Security Council further underscores a push for synergy in command should war reignite.
Overall, Iran’s military movements are silent, but they carry the unmistakable scent of war, which is detected not only on military bases but also mingles in the saffron-scented streets of Tehran.
“We must be prepared at every moment for confrontation. Right now, we are not even in a ceasefire [agreement]; we are in a cessation of hostilities,” said First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref this week.
info-boxCOMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
Red flags
Promises of high, fixed or ‘guaranteed’ returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions – this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics – creating urgency, offering ‘exclusive’ deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsWashmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick “walls” of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70′), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7′, Neres 18′, Tadic 62′, Schone 72′)
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73′ pen)
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tips for used car buyers
Choose cars with GCC specifications
Get a service history for cars less than five years old
Don’t go cheap on the inspection
Check for oil leaks
Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com