'Don't let beautiful Tehran become Gaza': Iranians' outcry after Israeli strike

Long queues outside petrol stations and bakeries, cars clogging up roads in a desperate bid to flee the capital, and nights filled with fear and uncertainty -  this is now the daily reality for many residents of Tehran.

In the wake of Israel's sudden aerial attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, Iranians are caught in a wave of panic, confusion and emotional turmoil. A detailed report by the BBC has captured the voices of Tehran residents trying to make sense of the chaos around them.

"We haven't slept for nights," said a 21-year-old music student via an encrypted social media app.

"Everyone is leaving, but I'm not. My dad says it's more honourable to die in your own house than to run away."

The young woman, who goes by the pseudonym Donya, is torn between her disdain for Iran's ruling regime and the horror of Israeli military power she has witnessed online, particularly in Gaza.

"I really don't want my beautiful Tehran to turn into Gaza," she said.

Long queues of traffic stretched along Tehran's roads as people tried to leave the city. Photo: Collected

Donya also rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for Iranians to rise up against their government.

"We don't want Israel to save us. No foreign country ever cared for Iran," she said. "We also don't want the Islamic Republic."

Another woman told BBC that she initially felt a "strange excitement" seeing Israeli forces eliminate powerful Iranian military figures.

"Suddenly that image of power was shattered," she said.

"But from the second day, when I heard that regular people – people I didn't know, people like me – had also been killed, I started to feel sorrow, fear and sadness."

Her sorrow soon turned into anger when she learned of the Israeli strike on the South Pars gas field. 

"I feared Israel was trying to turn Iran into ruins," she said.

She added that, for the first time in her life, she has started mentally preparing for the possibility of dying.

According to Iranian officials, over 220 people - including women and children - have died since Friday's attack. In the same period, Israel reported that Iranian missile strikes have killed at least 24 people.

The contrast in civilian protection between the two countries is stark. Iran lacks the advanced warnings and shelter systems available in Israel.

Missiles continue to strike at random, while reports of car bombings in Tehran - covered by both Israeli and Iranian media - have further amplified public fear.

Even some regime supporters are said to be disillusioned by the apparent failure of Iran's defence systems to prevent the strikes.

Public trust in the government remains low. 

Donya, once bold enough to flout Iran's strict dress codes, now stays home with her university exams postponed.

"I get so terrified at night," she admitted. "I take some pills to help me relax and try to sleep."

The government has advised citizens to seek shelter in mosques and metro stations. But with strikes hitting randomly, many say that it feels futile.

"Tehran is a big city, and yet every neighbourhood has been somehow affected by the damage," another young woman told BBC.

She said her family had relocated to a part of the city without government buildings, fearing further attacks.

"For now, all we do is check the news every hour and call friends and relatives whose neighbourhood has been hit to make sure they are still alive."

The assault has triggered heated debates among Iranians - some celebrate the regime's losses while others decry those supporting Israeli strikes. The national mood is one of division and despair, even within families.

"The situation feels like the first hours after the Titanic hit the iceberg," the woman said. 

"Some people were trying to escape, some were saying it wasn't a big deal, and others kept dancing."

Although a vocal critic of Iran's clerical rulers, she called Netanyahu's assault "inexcusable."

"Everyone's life, whether they supported the attacks or not, has been changed forever," she said.

"Most Iranians, even those who oppose the government, have now realised that freedom and human rights don't come from Israeli bombs falling on cities where defenceless civilians live."

"Most of us are scared and worried about what's coming next. We've packed bags with first aid supplies, food, and water, just in case things get worse," she added.

Israel has claimed that Iranian military forces operate out of civilian buildings, but those on the ground continue to bear the consequences.

Meanwhile, members of Iran's diaspora are watching with concern.

"It's hard to convey what it's like to be an Iranian right now," said Dorreh Khatibi-Hill, a Leeds-based women's rights activist and researcher who is in close contact with anti-regime activists, friends and family in Iran.

"You're happy that members of the regime, who have been torturing and murdering people, are being taken out.

"But we know that civilians are dying. This is a devastating humanitarian disaster."

"The main person in Iran – the supreme leader – is still alive while Iranians are fleeing for their lives.

"No one wants Iran to turn into another Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. None of us wants this war. We don't want the regime either," she added.