SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
This week marks six months since President Trump announced start of what he called major combat operations in Iran. At the time, he said the goal was to eliminate immediate threats posed by the regime and to support the Iranian people.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand.
SIMON: Later, the president said the operation would take four or five weeks. Reza Sayah is a freelance journalist and a special correspondent for PBS News. He joins us now from Tehran. Mr. Sayah, thanks so much for being with us.
REZA SAYAH: Thank you for having me.
SIMON: Six months of war, more than four months of a naval blockade that was aimed to choke off the Iranian economy. What is life like there now?
SAYAH: Life is difficult. It's challenging. Certainly, it's challenging for the people. It's challenging for the governments. They see themselves in a war, whether the missiles are being launched or not. They view this as a hybrid war, where you have an economic pressure on one hand from Washington, and then you have the military strikes that have been off and on.
But, you know, what I've seen here for months is a leadership that's on a war footing, a leadership that believes they are facing a critical moment in history where their survival is at stake. The security and geopolitical makeup of the region, in their view, is at stake. And obviously, the Trump administration - so this is a war that was going to end quickly within days, weeks. It offered numerous objectives, and six months later, it's clear to many observers that none of those objectives have been met and that Iran survived an unprecedented attack. But it has come at a cost. Life has been very difficult on many fronts here for the people.
SIMON: Tell us a bit about that. I gather inflation is projected to be almost 70%. How do people get by every day?
SAYAH: The economic situation is bad here. The pain comes in waves. Sometimes all you need is a headline to cause another wave of pain. This week, the headline came when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans for an economic doomsday for Iran - the toughest economic measures in history, as he put it. And even announcements like that impact people. There were long lines at the gas station. The prices of basic goods went up. The price of basic food items went up. This week, the value of the Iranian currency dropped to its lowest level, trading at more than 2 million rials to the dollar. And there's little evidence that the economic pressure has been effective in changing Iranian policy or to get the leadership to surrender.
SIMON: What's public opinion like? I know that's difficult to estimate, but early on, we did hear some Iranian voices in support of the U.S. and Israeli attacks, the - hoping they might bring about regime change.
SAYAH: Those voices have been muted in the past few months, and it's Tehran's view - and the view of many here - that those voices were amplified by anti-Iran news media that exist outside of Iran. But, you know, I remind everyone that Iran has 90 million people living here. They have 90 million views and opinions. It's hard to get inside the heads of every individual.
There is no question that many people here are having a hard time economically, and they want this pressure to ease. They want reform. There's a sector of the population who's called for regime change. But what we've seen publicly over the past several months is almost a daily presence of many people who see this as a war for survival, that they are supporting the government. They don't buy the narrative from Washington.
SIMON: Without putting you on the spot, can you report freely from Iran? Reporters Without Borders obviously says it's one of the most repressive countries in the world when it comes to press freedom.
SAYAH: I have reported here with press credentials from the Ministry of Culture for close to 20 years, and nowhere are you completely free. And I'm pleased and sometimes surprised with the freedom that I have. And I think as long as they view your reports - even if they're critical - as fair, they're going to allow you to work here. And I think, you know, that's been the case with me.
SIMON: Reza Sayah in Tehran. Thanks so much for being with us.
SAYAH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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