Today in Focus — "Inside Iran as the Bombs Fall"

The Guardian • March 10, 2026
Host: Annie Kelly
Featured Guest: Sanam Negari Andolini, executive director of the International Civil Society Action Network
Episode Theme: On-the-ground experiences and analysis of life in Iran after coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes and the assassination of the Supreme Leader

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the immediate aftermath of a historic and devastating week in Iran, marked by the assassination of the Supreme Leader and relentless airstrikes by the US and Israel. Host Annie Kelly interviews Sanam Negari Andolini and features first-hand testimony from Iranian civilians and residents reflecting on fear, devastation, and hopes for the future. The episode investigates both the on-the-ground hardship facing ordinary Iranians and the broader geopolitical motives and misunderstandings fueling the conflict.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Shock and Trauma in the Diaspora

• Sanam Negari Andolini describes the torment of watching the war unfold from afar, with the Iranian diaspora feeling "split in two" as loved ones endure bombing and chaos.
  • “My phone was blowing up with friends and family saying: ‘it’s started, it’s just started.’” (01:18, Sanam Negari Andolini)
  • “You feel literally as if your legs weigh a ton and you feel paralyzed, you feel like you’re constantly, not unable to breathe.” (01:57, Sanam Negari Andolini)

2. Voices from Inside Iran: Daily Fear & Uncertainty

• Residents describe living through air raid sirens, bombings, power and water shortages, loss of internet, and rising prices.
  • "We are going through very frightening days. The internet has been cut off. It feels like we have fallen into a black hole." (03:56, Iranian Resident 1)
  • "Even if you are not directly affected. Everyone feels the tension and uncertainty, like death is near you." (05:21, Iranian Resident 2)
  • “During all these days, I have been waking up in the morning to the sound of explosion...with every explosion, we call each other to make sure everyone is safe.” (04:53, Iranian Resident 1)

3. Civilian Infrastructure: Targeted and Destroyed

• Sanam details the extent of civilian damage: schools, hospitals, water plants, oil depots, and cultural landmarks have all been struck.
  • “Twenty hospitals, I think about nine schools, police stations, just local police stations. The stadium... was hit. Mehrabad airport was hit...Golestan Palace...has been damaged. Again, it’s a UNESCO heritage site. So these are all actually also war crimes.” (06:54, Sanam Negari Andolini)
• Strikes on oil depots led to severe environmental and health hazards.
• Example of a naval incident: an Iranian ship sunk by an American submarine, with survivors rescued only by the Sri Lankan Navy—reflecting the abandonment of the rules of war.
  • “It’s taken us 500 years...to come up with international laws...and in one generation, they’re ripping it up.” (10:01, Sanam Negari Andolini)

4. Lives Interrupted: Survival, Shortages, and Helplessness

• Civilians have no access to bomb shelters; metro stations are improvised shelters.
• Many in poverty are compelled to risk their lives daily to earn wages.
• Worries over inflation, empty shelves, closed banks, and evaporating basic services.
  • “People are buying extra food, like just in case...Prices have increased. We are very worried our money will run out or even the few shops that are open might close.” (13:10, Iranian Resident 1)
• Death Toll: As of March 7, about 1,500 killed, 10,000 injured, not counting military casualties. (14:10, Sanam Negari Andolini)

5. Complex Political Reality: Regime Change and Miscalculations

• Iranians initially celebrated the Supreme Leader’s death, but Sanam warns that his assassination turned him into a martyr, rallying opposition to the West and strengthening internal resolve.
  • “Here’s a man who in life did not have that grand a stature...by killing him, he was turned into a martyr. He was all of a sudden being labeled as imam.” (15:18, Sanam Negari Andolini)
• The regime's power is deeply embedded and decentralized; parallel military and civilian systems (e.g., IRGC, Basij) make simple regime change illusions dangerous.
  • “The Iranian regime was never like that. The system of power was very, very different to your traditional dictatorship. Not only that, they anticipated this kind of attack...” (17:59, Sanam Negari Andolini)
• Key Insight: Western strategies for regime change via bombing misunderstand or ignore the realities of Iran’s complex governing structures and societal allegiances.
  • “When in recent history or ever, has there been an attempt at regime change with an air campaign that’s been successful?” (19:12, Sanam Negari Andolini)
  • “My thesis is that this is not about changing the regime...the intent here was always to diminish Iran as a regional power.” (19:53, Sanam Negari Andolini)

6. Mixed Hopes, Fears, and Diaspora Politics

• Some Iranians briefly hoped that foreign intervention would bring relief and the end of dictatorship.
  • “I was so happy, like for the death of the dictator...it was like what I felt, too, like a new era which the dictatorship doesn’t have any place in it.” (23:09, Iranian Resident 2)
  • However, the hope quickly met the bitter reality of war’s cost, and many began to question faith in foreign saviors.
  • “It’s this bizarre perspective that the regime is bad and we’re gonna rely on Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to come and save us?” (24:07, Sanam Negari Andolini)
• Discussion on the Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi:
  • He has some diaspora support but his capacity and transition plan are critiqued as “amateurish,” lacking experience and inclusivity.
  • “...you don’t do a constitution in two months...when they’ve had elections in three months, it’s been pretty disastrous.” (25:53, Sanam Negari Andolini)

7. Global, Religious, and Apocalyptic Dimensions

• American and Israeli leaders are invoking religious, even apocalyptic language to justify military escalation:
  • “Everybody’s trying to escalate, but we’re dealing with governments...now invoking the Bible and the Torah...to justify what they’re doing.” (28:25, Sanam Negari Andolini)
  • “A commander told officers that the war was, quote, ‘all part of God’s divine plan’...and that Donald Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon.” (29:45, Annie Kelly)
• Sanam calls out Western hypocrisy, contrasts it with previous labeling of Iran’s leaders as “mad mullahs,” and raises fears over the lack of restraint regarding use of banned weaponry and environmental destruction.
  • “Who is putting the guardrails on the type of weaponry that is being used in this war...In terms of chemical warfare...that’s chemical. That’s de facto chemical warfare.” (29:55, Sanam Negari Andolini)
• Biggest Worry: The risk of total social collapse if militias or organized gangs fill the resulting power vacuum.

8. Closing Hopes and Fears

• Despite devastation, voices from Iran still cling to hope for a better, free, dignified future — and an end to the nightmare of war.
  • “My biggest hope is that this ends with real change and a better future for the Iranian people...In a country where people have freedom and dignity, where people aren’t killed for chanting in the streets. My fear is that the conflict will continue...” (31:53, Iranian Resident 2)
• Sanam concludes with a plea for de-escalation and protection for ordinary civilians.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “My phone was blowing up with friends and family saying: ‘it’s started, it’s just started.’”
  (01:18, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “You feel literally as if your legs weigh a ton and you feel paralyzed, you feel like you’re constantly, not unable to breathe.”
  (01:57, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “The internet has been cut off. It feels like we have fallen into a black hole.”
  (03:56, Iranian Resident 1)

• “Prices have increased. We are very worried our money will run out or even the few shops that are open might close.”
  (13:10, Iranian Resident 1)

• “When they killed Khamenei...by killing him, he was turned into a martyr. He was all of a sudden being labeled as imam.”
  (15:18, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “It’s this bizarre perspective that the regime is bad and we’re gonna rely on Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to come and save us?”
  (24:07, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “You don’t do a constitution in two months...their understanding of the regime, I feel, has been amateurish.”
  (25:53, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “Who is putting the guardrails on the type of weaponry that is being used in this war?”
  (29:55, Sanam Negari Andolini)

• “My biggest hope is that this ends with real change and a better future for the Iranian people...if we don’t hope for the best, what can we do?”
  (31:53, Iranian Resident 2)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening – The start of the bombardment, diaspora perspective: 01:18–02:29
• First-hand civilian life under attack: 03:33–05:44
• Destruction of schools, hospitals, and cultural sites: 06:14–08:46
• Naval incident & international law: 09:43–10:58
• Civilian survival struggles & shortages: 11:26–14:05
• Death toll and regime power structure explained: 14:10–19:12
• Motives for intervention, misreading Iran: 19:12–20:55
• Mixed reactions to regime change & foreign intervention: 22:16–24:07
• Discussion of Pahlavi and regime transition planning: 25:26–27:59
• Escalation, biblical rhetoric, and lack of restraint: 28:25–31:16
• Final hopes & fears from residents: 31:53–32:36

Summary Takeaway

This episode delivers a harrowing and nuanced portrayal of ordinary life in Iran as bombs fall, exposing the trauma, confusion, and resilience of civilians and the Iranian diaspora. It warns of the dangers of simplistic notions of regime change, questions the genuineness of Western objectives, and highlights the grave cost civilians pay for geopolitical calculations. Despite despair, the voice of hope and longing for real change endures among those living through catastrophe.