The streets of Tehran are telling a narrative of chaos: suitcases dragged throughout pavements, a single mom holding her younger son with one hand whereas balancing a blanket and pillow within the different, heading right into a subway station to spend yet one more night time underground. With no shelters, alerts, or public evacuation plans, younger Iranians are turning to the one protected area left as Israel attacks Iran: the web, and chat apps like Discord and WhatsApp.
“We don’t know the place to go,” says Momo, a 24-year-old IT engineering scholar in Tehran.
“We by no means know if the constructing subsequent door homes the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] or the Ministry of Intelligence. I don’t know if my upstairs neighbour is a daily individual or a regime official. The ability close to me is perhaps a part of a secret navy programme,” he stated, alluding to Israel’s assaults on residential buildings, ostensibly to focus on people related to Iran’s navy or with its nuclear programme.
Regardless of all of it, Momo has chosen to remain in Tehran – not only for his two-year-old rescue cat, however out of precept. “The place would I even go? My house is right here. My life is right here. We gained’t give in to a repressive regime or Israeli aggression. Many people are staying. We don’t know the way lengthy it will final, however I’d quite my dwelling develop into my grave than reside in displacement.”
No shelter however the web
With typical protected havens out of attain and communication networks below heavy surveillance or blocked fully, Iran’s Era Z – these born between the mid-Nineties and mid-2010s – are carving out new refuges within the digital world. Boards have develop into lifelines, serving as makeshift shelters, remedy rooms, and organising hubs.
Momo has been a Discord person for seven years. “It’s the one place the place I can breathe,” Momo says. “I used Discord only for voice chats whereas gaming with buddies. Now, it seems like dwelling. We’re usually in contact with individuals there greater than our households. In the midst of the bombings, we watched motion pictures and TV collection collectively. Typically, we even go to sleep on-line.”
This era of Iranians got here of age within the shadow of sanctions, political unrest, and censorship. Many have been additionally key gamers within the 2022 anti-government protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for sporting “improper hijab” – a motion identified globally by the slogan “Lady, Life, Freedom”. On-line platforms performed a pivotal function then, they usually proceed to function important instruments as we speak.
In line with Iranian each day Shargh, practically 14 million Iranians – round 15 % of the inhabitants – are Gen Z players and frequent Discord customers. Regardless of official restrictions, they continue to be digitally linked, utilizing VPNs and encrypted apps to remain in contact.
“When the assaults started, we have been in the course of a sport,” Samin, a 23-year-old from northern Iran, says. “It was surreal – not understanding if the explosions have been coming from inside the sport or actual life. These video games are filled with gunfire and bombs, creating this bitter irony: I couldn’t inform if I used to be taking part in Name of Responsibility or dwelling it. Sadly, the sounds weren’t from the sport – they have been actual bombings.”
Discord was blocked in Iran in April 2024, with some suspecting that the federal government shut it down in recognition of its use as a platform to organise protests, though Iran’s judiciary formally cited considerations over indecent content material. However the ban hasn’t stopped Gen Z from discovering their manner again to the app.
“Typically we go to nice lengths simply to discover a working VPN, simply to log into Discord and be part of our channels. If somebody doesn’t come on-line, we name them. If their voice cuts out mid-call, our hearts race – we fear they could have been killed in a bombing,” Samin says. “We’re on-line greater than ever, always checking in on one another. We’ve shared a lot – birthdays, the sound of missiles overhead, the lack of family members. We share our fears and each day struggles in that area. It’s a painful environment, however there’s hope, solidarity, and care, too.”
Being pregnant, panic, and perseverance
In the meantime, a WhatsApp group created initially for prenatal yoga in Tehran has develop into an surprising hub of resilience. Its members – pregnant girls who have been unable to flee the capital – now share respiratory strategies, emergency suggestions, and voice messages throughout blackout intervals.
Ameneh and her good friend Zohreh, PhD holders and United States inexperienced card recipients, had been ready for his or her mother and father’ visas to be permitted by the US for months. Whereas each have been anticipating infants, they made completely different selections: Zohreh returned to Iran to have her household’s assist for childbirth, whereas Ameneh stayed in San Francisco to present delivery alone – however safely – within the US.
Now, 4 days into Israel’s bombardment of Iran, each girls are devastated – however nonetheless linked by way of a gaggle chat on the encrypted messaging app known as “Yoga for Being pregnant”.
“We give one another recommendation on self-care and respiratory to handle panic assaults and do yoga collectively on-line. We gentle candles and ship voice notes when issues go quiet once more,” says Zohreh, who’s eight months pregnant in Tehran.
“The sound of an explosion woke me. A good friend guided me to deal with respiratory and heartbeat to calm my contractions. One other time, when my child didn’t transfer for hours, they instructed me to play music, do a therapeutic massage, and take a look at yoga once more.”
US President Donald Trump’s risk that Tehran be “evacuated” despatched waves of panic by Tehran. Zohreh and plenty of different pregnant girls discovered themselves unable to go away town on account of their bodily situation and restricted entry to medical care. “We had deliberate to go away Tehran,” she says, “however after seeing the visitors and the potential for going into labour early, I made a decision to remain so I’d have entry to a hospital.”
Because the bombs fall and uncertainty deepens, Iranians’ defiance lives in digital areas – quiet, steadfast, and deeply human. Even when the sky presents no warning and the regime presents no refuge, they’re nonetheless discovering one another and refusing to face the darkish alone.
Editor’s be aware: As a result of delicate nature of this story, names have been modified to guard the individuals concerned.
This story was printed in collaboration with Egab.
