These Iranians supported the US-Israeli war. Now they realise their mistake

The cessation of US-Israeli strikes has brought relief to people in Iran. For those among them who began the conflict supportive of the assault, it also came with a kind of realisation.

“I thought this was it,” says Leila, 25. “I thought the Islamic Republic was finally coming to an end.”

Leila, who like all Iranians Middle East Eye spoke to is identified using a pseudonym to protect her own safety, says she believed the strikes on her country would be short and decisive – that they would lead to political change.

“I even thought the US and Israel had already agreed with Reza Pahlavi about Iran’s future,” she said. “I was wrong.”

Leila is not alone. In the early days of the conflict, some Iranian opponents of the ruling establishment saw Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as potential forces for change, even as unlikely allies.

But as the war dragged on, and the scale of destruction became clearer, those expectations faded dramatically.

“Why did they hit bridges?” Leila asks. “Why destroy railway lines? Why target oil depots?” She shakes her head. “How does that help change a government?”

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