A-Infos (en) Italy, Anarres: Voices from Iran under the bombs (ca, de, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

We offer testimonies and statements from Iranian individuals and 
organizations following the Israeli attack of June 13th and the appeal 
of several groups of Iranians living in Italy. ---- Testimony of an 
anarchist from Tehran June 14, 2025 ---- A night of fire and confusion. 
---- Last night, while we were sleeping, Israel attacked Iran. The 
attacks targeted Tehran, but also other cities. I heard rumblings, I saw 
flashes of lightning: I thought it was a thunderstorm. Nothing suggested 
war, especially with the discussions between Iran and the United States. 
---- Only this morning (June 14, Editor's note), through the Anarchist 
Front, did we learn what had really happened: multiple attacks, civilian 
deaths.

I went out to investigate. The city was cordoned off. The army and 
police blocked access to the affected areas. Unexploded bombs still lay 
in buildings.
At the hospital, I was prevented from entering, and the police deleted 
all the photos from my phone. According to a journalist on the scene, at 
least seven children had been killed.
Some were crying. Others—predictably—rejoiced at the deaths of regime 
officials.

The next day: a hell without alarms
. In the hours that followed, I saw apocalyptic scenes.
The sky was streaked with missiles. Fire fell on the streets. People 
were fleeing Tehran: entire families, young workers, the elderly. We 
waited for help on the sidewalks. Wounded, burned, two dead before my 
eyes. No alarms. No shelter. Nothing.
The giant screens broadcast the official version: the Islamic Republic 
had struck Tel Aviv, Israel had promised to retaliate. I have comrades 
there: anarchists, pacifists, those who refuse to serve in the army.
We don't want this war.

A population in survival mode
. The air is polluted: nuclear plants have been hit. People are packing 
up, stockpiling supplies, fleeing the big cities... only to return 
later, lacking alternatives. The roads are congested.
State media sing hymns and broadcast lies. The only reliable source: 
Telegram and satellite channels.
Demonstrations are still rare. Too many police, too much fear. 
Yesterday, in front of the hospitals, families were searching for their 
missing loved ones. We screamed.
We cried. We resisted.

No shelter, no evacuations.
Institutions remain open as if nothing had happened. There are no safety 
instructions, no sirens, no reception centers. Chemical leaks are 
likely, but there are no protocols in place.
So, people desert on their own initiative: businesses close, students 
refuse to take exams, public employees stay home. Only the emergency 
services remain operational.
Sometimes I still feel alive only because Israel isn't (yet) attacking 
residential areas. But the fires, radioactive fallout, and stray shots 
continue to kill people.
And there is no help. Nothing. No humanitarian support, no external 
organizations, no medicine—and the sanctions have already been killing 
for years.

Four Irans, One Land Under Bombs
It is important to understand that the Iranian people are fragmented:

1. A silent majority, which hates the regime but rejects war. It 
survives, flees, mourns the dead, cursing the leaders.

2. The Islamists, loyal to the government, who speak of martyrdom and 
want revenge.

3. The monarchists and liberals, often pro-Israel, who applaud the 
attacks against the Revolutionary Guards.

4. Anarchists and left-wing activists, like us: against the Islamic 
Republic, but also against Israel, against all states. For survival, 
mutual aid, autonomy.

What place do anarchists have in this war?
We are not armed. We do not participate in combat. Our task lies 
elsewhere: to inform, to save, to build connections, to counter 
propaganda. We help as best we can: first aid, information channels, and 
awareness of chemical risks. We care for ourselves and for those who 
have no one.
We reject simplistic rhetoric. Neither "all Israelis must die" nor "the 
Zionists are our saviors."
We are caught between two fires: religious fundamentalism on one side, 
Zionist militarism on the other.
Our role is to be bridges. Transmitters of ideas. To breach fatalism. To 
stand firm, even unarmed, even in fear.

Mourning the Anti-War Movement
I must admit: I am sad. Deeply so. Ten years ago, I spoke with Israeli 
peace activists. Those who refused to serve. Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, 
Anarchists. Together, we dreamed of a free Middle East, without an army, 
without a state.
But we lost. We weren't strong enough to prevent war. We didn't have 
enough support. Today, people are afraid to talk about peace. They 
believe it would be treason. That calling for an end to airstrikes means 
surrendering to the enemy.
Yet, everyone wants peace. But no one dares demand it.

A voice in the turmoil
. I don't know how long we'll hold out. Just last night, the planes 
roared like a highway in the sky. But I know one thing: as long as there 
are people to care for, to resist, and to organize without waiting for 
the state, there will be seeds of anarchy, even among the rubble.

Conclusion: Let's not normalize the unbearable.
First of all, I want to sincerely thank all the comrades who took the 
time to listen to us. In a world where we are constantly crushed by 
political, economic, and police forces, we are rarely given the space to 
speak. Even without bombs, violence surrounds us: it takes the form of 
unpayable rent, endless paperwork, discrimination, exhaustion, and 
isolation. A silent violence, presented as "normal," to which we should 
never get used.
But when war breaks out, this violence suddenly disintegrates in broad 
daylight. What was tolerated becomes unbearable. And then, 
paradoxically, we can speak. I was able to write to you because 
everything collapsed. Because, in chaos, the simplest truths become 
audible again.

What I want to say to you is this: don't let this conversation fall into 
silence. Don't let our pain—here in Iran, as elsewhere—be relegated to 
the margins, as if it were simply "local," "specific," "cultural," or 
"exceptional."
For in truth, we share the same war: the one waged by states against our 
lives. So I implore you, comrades: don't accept the violence of everyday 
life as a given. Reject the idea that we must wait for the missiles to 
strike before we react. Don't wait for our suffering to become 
spectacular before it deserves your attention.
Let's speak now. Let's organize. Let's create real spaces for action and 
mutual aid. So that the war here doesn't become background noise. So 
that you aren't reduced to mere "saviors" in the face of our suffering, 
but rather accomplices in the struggle.

A call for international solidarity.
Today, the situation is unstable, critical, perhaps on the brink of a 
humanitarian catastrophe. If Iran is isolated from the world—by bombs or 
by the Islamic Republic's censorship—spread our word. Tell us what is 
happening to us. Give a voice to those deprived of one.
We enjoy no international protection. NGOs are almost nonexistent. 
Sanctions are exacerbating our suffering.
If you have contacts, influence, or connections in collectives, unions, 
associations, or health networks: mobilize them. Demand urgent medical 
assistance, increased vigilance against violations, and international 
mediation that transcends state logic.

But above all, reject simplistic narratives.
We are neither pawns of Israel nor pawns of the Islamic regime. We 
believe neither in "liberating" bombs nor in "resisting" mullahs. We are 
trapped between two machines of death and we continue to try, again and 
again, to build something different.
There is no mass exodus yet. But if the war spreads, the consequences 
will be horrific. So, comrades, let us rise together. Not to support one 
side against the other, but to make another voice heard: that of life, 
liberty, and solidarity, against all states, all borders, and all wars.

****
Statement by the Anarchist Front of Iran and Afghanistan against the war 
fury of the governments

We, the anarchist front of Iran and Afghanistan, reaffirm our steadfast 
and principled position:

Every war – on any scale and under any pretext – initiated or supported 
by states must be unequivocally condemned.

Countries, regardless of their shape or form, use war as a tool of 
survival and control. And in this process, the lives, dignity, and 
future of ordinary people are trampled underfoot.
At a time when the world is once again plagued by violence, bombings, 
death, displacement, and insecurity, we insist on this enduring truth: 
the true victims of war are always people, not countries, not 
ideologies, not borders.
Our fight, as always, is not for the redistribution of power among 
elites, but against the very institution of the state and every form of 
organized control.

We stand in solidarity – thoughtfully and decisively – with the Iranian 
people, Afghanistan, and the broader region.

What we witness today are, on the one hand, the Israeli regime's blatant 
crimes, targeting civilians in Gaza and elsewhere with savage cruelty. 
On the other hand, we see the Islamic Republic of Iran manipulating 
public fear, playing geopolitical games at the cost of Iranian lives to 
impose the burden of war on society.

We see the Islamic Republic not only as the outbreak of a regional war, 
but as part of a global chain of control and oppression – a regime that 
for decades has attacked the Iranian people with censorship, poverty, 
imprisonment, torture, and execution, endangering millions through 
military provocations.

While we condemn the atrocities of the Zionist regime in the strongest 
terms, we also affirm that the struggle against the Islamic Republic is 
part of our broader struggle against all states and structures of 
control – a struggle that will continue.

We fight for a world without borders, countries, armies, or 
authorities—a world where humanity, life, and freedom are at the center. 
Our primary war has always been the war against political authority, 
totalitarianism, and the state itself.

Anarchist Front Iran and Afghanistan
June 13, 2025

****
Here you can listen to Radio Blackout's interview with Behrooz of 
“Together with Iran”:

https://radioblackout.org/2025/06/voci-dalliran-sotto-le-bombe/

https://www.anarresinfo.org/voci-dalliran-sotto-le-bombe/
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