Tehran’s residents have nowhere to go despite Trump threat
Reporting from Doha, Qatar
It’s very alarming, especially given the timing, that this warning comes from the US president.
It’s the middle of the night for the people in Tehran, and most of them are asleep. Second, even if they were aware of this warning, where are they supposed to go?
Iran has no bomb shelters. It is not prepared for what is happening right now.
This was an unthinkable situation for most Iranians. They haven’t seen bombs dropping on Tehran since the Iran-Iraq War, and that ended 37 years ago. So there is an entire generation of Iranians that have never seen this kind of conflict, and they’re absolutely petrified, and understandably so. It came as very much a surprise to the entire nation of nearly 90 million people.
So the options for the general public are very limited.
I think the intent is to really create fear and panic by the US president to try and pressure the Iranian officials to agree to a deal, whatever deal he has in mind.
Closed shops in the Tehran Bazaar following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in the centre of Tehran, Iran, June 16, 2025 [Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]