A resident of Tehran says the Iranian capital has been sharply divided in recent days as anti-government protests continue, with some people fleeing the city amid escalating violence while others rush home after work to prepare for nightly demonstrations.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday and requesting anonymity due to security concerns, the resident described an eerie calm during daylight hours that gives way to unrest after dark.
“During the day it’s very quiet,” the resident said. “You talk to people working in coffee shops and they’ll tell you they finish their shifts around 6 p.m., go home, change their clothes, and then head back out to the streets.”
Although the scale of the protests has diminished slightly since the weekend, conditions in the city remain severe, the resident said. Hospitals are reportedly overwhelmed, and some cemeteries have begun refusing additional burials because of overcrowding.
“The first two nights of the major protests — Thursday and Friday — were massive,” the resident said. “People of every age came out. You saw young people protesting alongside their parents, from all backgrounds and from every part of the city.”
According to the resident, the situation took a dramatic turn on Saturday.
“Saturday became extremely violent,” the person said. “That’s when many people decided to stop going out and stayed home.”
Still, anger toward the government continues to drive many demonstrators into the streets. Some protesters are choosing to attend rallies alone so they can escape quickly if authorities intervene, without worrying about the safety of friends or family members.
“There are people who are carrying knives and other weapons,” the resident said.
The protests appear to involve a degree of organization, the resident added. Those at the front lines often seem to include individuals coordinating where demonstrations begin, when they start, how roads are blocked, and, in some cases, acts of vandalism and violence.
At the same time, some demonstrators are questioning whether the violence is being provoked by the Iranian government itself or influenced by outside actors, the resident said.
Despite those suspicions, the resident stressed that the driving force behind the unrest is widespread frustration with living conditions inside Iran.
“The situation is really, really bad,” the resident said. “People are hungry and angry. Life has become unaffordable even for the rich — so imagine what it’s like for poor and lower-class people.”
