Near Tabriz —
Surrounded by glistening, snow-capped mountains, the long road to Tehran winds through picturesque valleys of Tabrizi poplar trees and fields of green wheat sprouts.
We follow the narrow Quotulu River, swollen brown from the spring snowmelt, flowing past shepherds grazing their woolly flocks on the slopes.
In the distance, an impressive railway bridge with steel girders painted bright white stretches across the gleaming landscape, seemingly unaffected by the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that battered and scarred parts of Iran earlier this year.
But with peace talks stalled and tensions rising over the continued closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, fears of a renewed war are fueling domestic unrest. As CNN traveled across the country, ordinary Iranians whom President Trump once encouraged to “take back our country” spoke of life under shelling and blockade.
When a young Iranian woman traveling from the United States to Tehran learned that we were traveling together through northwestern Iran, she advised us, “Don’t go there. It’s too dangerous now.”
“I have a family. That’s why I’m taking the risk,” she explained on condition of anonymity.
On the roadside between kiosks selling pistachio nuts and tea, black signs mourn the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed in a February airstrike on the first day of the war.
“His shadow has passed over our heads,” one banner reads in Persian, quoting a famous Persian lament.
Another poster declared that Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now the country’s “standard bearer,” but the younger Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the same attack, has not been seen or heard from in public since taking power, another sign of how uncertain Iran remains.
One Iranian man said, “President Trump may decide to start bombing today as well.”
“Maybe not when he’s in China, but you never know. Trump likes to be the center of attention,” he added.
As US President Donald Trump embarks on a state visit to China, both the US and Iran appear to be looking to China for a possible way out of the impasse. President Trump is expected to urge China to put pressure on Iran to reach a compromise. Iran’s ambassador to China also suggested that the communist state could play a strong intermediary role between the United States and Tehran.
The United States and China share an interest in lifting the blockade on the flow of oil and gas through the Persian Gulf. Moreover, appearing to help resolve the problems that have arisen in the global economy in recent months could be a shrewd diplomatic move for China, potentially allowing Beijing to contrast its actions with the chaos in Washington.
But it is Iranians, a vibrant political force despite Iran’s hardline rule, who are likely to decide the country’s future, and on the long drive to the capital there were snapshots of the disparate forces at work.
I saw crowds of day-trippers, young and old, hand-carrying gallon drums of cooking oil across the border from Turkey. One Iranian pensioner breathlessly explained that basic necessities are six times more expensive in Iran than in Turkey, as the cost of living crisis spirals with no signs of easing.
Possibly exacerbated by the recent U.S. naval blockade of Iran, cost-of-living issues underpinned nationwide anti-government protests that began late last year and led to a brutal crackdown. Iranian authorities have acknowledged that thousands of people have been killed in the country’s response to the protests.
At a restaurant in an ancient caravanserai, or traditional traveler’s rest stop, on the way to Tehran, we were served rice and spicy kebabs and drank strong, strong coffee in a dining room filled with families. Surprisingly, most of the Iranian women there were not wearing hijabs or headscarves. This is a defiant legacy of the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests that forced Iranian authorities to ease enforcement of strict dress codes.
Iranians have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to stand up in the face of overwhelming force, often at great cost. But now the war between the United States and Iran, which President Trump early on called a “little trip,” is clearly taking a toll on the Iranian people, who are struggling to survive the day-to-day war and prepare for another possible attack.
“Despite the difficulties, I don’t think protests are even on the agenda for most Iranians right now,” an Iranian father named Madi confided as he helped his infant daughter wash her hands at a restaurant.
“Trump’s war has silenced people and strengthened the Iranian government, at least for now,” the man added.
Editor’s note: CNN operates in Iran with permission from the Iranian government, subject to local regulations. CNN maintains full editorial control over its reporting. The Iranian government does not review, approve, or preview CNN reporting prior to publication or broadcast.
