Iranians marked the ceasefire that took effect Wednesday with a mix of relief and unease, as relative quiet returned to the capital after weeks of Israeli and American bombardment that had targeted government and security buildings and destroyed many homes across Tehran. For some residents, the sudden drop in blasts offered a brief sense that life could resume. For others, the truce looked less like an end to the war and more like a pause, one that could collapse if regional and strategic issues were not resolved.
Several residents described the moment the ceasefire began as a psychological turning point after what they said had been relentless strikes. One man in his late 20s, who works in advertising, told The Associated Press that he jolted awake before dawn, then realized the ceasefire had taken hold when he did not hear the thud of air defenses. He said he went back to sleep “with a laugh and a smile,” describing relief that came quickly—and, for many, did not last.
The ceasefire also arrived after a volatile shift in U.S. messaging that residents said added to confusion. According to the AP report, Trump had threatened to destroy critical infrastructure and bridges before reversing course and agreeing to what residents described as an uneasy truce. The report cited social media messaging from Trump that included the phrase, “A whole civilization will die tonight.” That whiplash, residents said, lingered even as the bombing eased.
While some Iranians said the truce gave them a new life, the AP report also showed how widespread concern remained about a return to fighting. The truce has already teetered, the report said, amid Israel’s continuing war against Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran’s refusal to fully open the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital for world energy supplies. Several residents said unresolved strategic disputes made them skeptical that the ceasefire would hold.
In downtown Tehran, photographer Maryam Saeedpoor described the emotional toll of the war and said she had struggled to find steadiness even after the truce began. She told AP that she tried to take up painting while blasts echoed across the city, but that she could not steady her hand. “Tehran is the warmest, the most beautiful city in the world in my opinion, but now its face is full of sadness, pain,” she said in a WhatsApp audio note. She said she feared the strikes had already done lasting damage to industries and infrastructure that helped Iran endure decades of international sanctions, and she described the truce as “pause,” with no guarantee the war is over.
Saeedpoor also recounted seeing rescue teams search for survivors in rubble near her home before the deal. She said she posted on Instagram a photo of the aftermath of a strike days before the truce, describing how nearby homes were destroyed after attackers hit a police station. In her account, even when the ceasefire began, the visible signs of damage and the memory of search-and-rescue efforts continued to shape daily life.
More broadly, the AP report said deaths and destruction continued to mount. Abbas Masjedi, described as a top medical official, told Iran’s state-run IRAN daily newspaper that more than 3,000 people had been killed in Iran during the war. The report did not provide a breakdown for civilians versus soldiers in the figure. The report also said Iran’s Red Crescent first responders indicated that thousands of residential buildings were damaged.
Residents said the days leading up to the ceasefire included sudden preparations that reflected heightened fear of escalation. For several hours Tuesday, the AP report said it appeared as if the war would intensify, and many people stocked up on water or relocated to safer areas after Trump’s threats. When the truce was announced shortly before a deadline he had imposed, several residents described it as a brief easing of a tense countdown.
The AP report also documented how Iranians turned to routine and culture during the bombardment, even as the war disrupted normal life. Ali Jafarabadi, head of Book City—described as Iran’s largest bookstore chain—told AP that many people sought reading time during the bombardment. He said sales of historical fiction set during past wars, self-help books and adult coloring books rose, while the chain reopened after closing during the first days of the war. The report said at least six Book City branches across Tehran were damaged, including damage to the main branch on Shariati Street.
Jafarabadi said that despite the physical toll, people kept returning. “It shows people are craving books, people are craving culture, people are craving a safe space where they can come and connect with each other,” he told AP in a phone call, adding “That is the people of Iran.” In the AP account, the bookstores’ story of damage and reopening became part of a broader pattern of resilience under pressure.
Even as the ceasefire brought quiet to parts of the city, the AP report said Iran’s internal divisions were visible in reactions. The people described by AP included those who hoped the war would topple the government, and those who supported it and were disappointed that Iran had agreed to halt a war they said it was winning. One man in advertising told AP that most people fell “somewhere in between,” describing them as “moderates” who were “looking for an improved situation.”
Women described their own forms of adaptation and resistance amid the war and ongoing social restrictions. One woman, a physical trainer and social media influencer, told AP that she had recently taken to riding her motorcycle around Tehran “as a form of civil resistance,” while noting that enforcement of a requirement for women to cover their hair was easing. The AP report said her description of Tehran contrasted wealthy northern neighborhoods where life appeared more normal with downtown areas where strikes had hit more heavily, leaving “Silence” and what she described as “the smell of death.”
In the AP reporting, the ceasefire’s central promise—time without bombardment—was real for many residents, but its durability was the open question. Even as some described laughter in the morning quiet, others described lasting damage, continued uncertainty and a sense that what happens next will depend on whether unresolved conflicts beyond Tehran are addressed alongside the truce itself.