Iran under attack: The view from inside
The Global Story
BBC
3.8 • 668 Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Five days since the first US–Israeli strikes on Iran, and the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the country is once again in a communications blackout. With limited access to reliable information, it is difficult to know how ordinary Iranians are coping.
Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter and presenter at BBC Persian, has been speaking to people inside Iran to guage their fears, their expectations, and how they are navigating a moment that could reshape their country’s future.
Producer: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Chris Benderev
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: A woman reacts on the street following an Israeli and US strike on a police station, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:06.3 | All right. |
| 0:10.4 | When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, |
| 0:13.4 | some Iranians mourned his death publicly in the streets of Tehran. |
| 0:18.1 | But others took to the streets to celebrate the supreme leader's demise. |
| 0:26.8 | A lot of the celebrations we've seen among Iranians have come from members of the Iranian |
| 0:32.3 | diaspora around the world. |
| 0:36.0 | Whether in London, |
| 0:40.8 | Washington, |
| 0:44.1 | or Sydney. It would be like a giant party, lots of people dancing and singing and embracing talking. |
| 0:50.3 | We want to understand what's happening to Iranians inside Iran. |
| 0:55.1 | So coming up, we'll be talking with our colleague Parham Gobadi from BBC Persian. |
| 1:00.9 | Now, despite an internet blackout, he and his colleagues have been figuring out ways to reach Iranians in Iran. |
| 1:08.1 | As airstrikes continue to rain down on the country. |
| 1:14.8 | From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:18.7 | And I'm Tristan Redmond in London. |
| 1:20.5 | And today on the global story, what's life like in Iran right now? |
| 1:25.7 | And what do Iranians want? |
| 1:33.4 | Thank you. life like in Iran right now. And what do Iranians want? Parham, it's great to have you back with us. |
| 1:35.6 | We're speaking to you on Tuesday afternoon, |
| 1:37.5 | and we just want to note that time |
| 1:38.7 | because it's plausible that the situation on the ground |
... |
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